It seem's like no matter what the weather conditions are there is always someone walking down a highway in the middle of no where. When I lived and worked in the California desert just south of Palm Springs there was always people out in the 110-125 degree heat. I would see migrant workers walking across the desert with an old milk bottle full of warm water, heading north. I knew several people that suffered from de-hydration, even though they consumed water all day long.
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| Have you been here long? |
We would typically drink over a gallon of water a day. It's the type of environment that flies die in, they die at 120 degrees F. When a person has a water hose and makes a puddle it is instantly covered with flies getting water. Life and death is very real when the
temperatures are above 110 degrees F.
When working outside, or having to walk a distance during that kind of heat is very taxing. Under company directions we were allowed to work 1/2 hour in the heat and retreat to the air conditioned shop where our opposite crew took over. We rotated that way for weeks on end, people still suffered from de-hydration. We had a heat safety meeting once a month, a doctor would come to the site and speak of heat related subjects. We learned a lot about hydration, "stay hydrated" was our battle cry. Sweating in the heat our clothes would get soaking wet, it would keep us cool, after it dried white streaks would show up on our clothes. The white streaks are an indication that your body is losing minerals.
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Find shade, and stay there until you've
cooled down. Drink water all day long. |
A good way to replenish the lost minerals is by consuming a drink such as Gator-aide or a number of other products. These products are not without concerns of their own. There are a lot of electrolytes in a container of one of these drinks, we were told to always mix them no more than 50/50 water to solution. Then drink a lot of clear water all day long, it works most of the time. I was working with a man that followed all the precautions we worked with, he still collapsed from heat exhaustion after 10 minutes in the sun. Granted it was his third or fourth shift and we were all getting tired, we still had to carry him in, he did recover. Drink lots of water and rest in a cool spot, don't rush it, wait until you've cooled down and make sure you feel OK.
A mistake I made through ignorance of chemistry I suppose it would be called was when I was going to make a "batch" of one of the electrolyte drinks. I saw the water cooler and thought it was a good idea if I were to take a powdered packet and mix it in the 5 gallon container of water. I thought we would have a cold drink and it would be better. I remember the color of the concoction was green, it was in the water cooler over night. Now I don't know what caused this to happen, but it did, and I felt bad and frankly really kind of dumb. The first person to drink from the water cooler took a long drink, it was in his stomach for about 1/2 of a second when suddenly he vomited. All I can figure is there was some algae or bacteria or something in there that interacted with the drink and made it something else. I learned at least two things from that, one of course don't put that stuff in a water cooler bottle. The second is to clean the cooler once in a while.
Now there is nothing wrong with any of the drinks, we need to realize it is not a matter of "if a little is good, a lot should be a lot better." I believe it would be better to refer to dealing with anything in the
heat, water included, "proceed with caution". My advice, drink a gallon of water a day at least in the high temperatures, mix it on occasion 50/50 with an electrolyte drink and pay attention to your body. There are special ways to dress as well, but that's another blog.
Thanks for reading, comment I'd like to hear from you, drink lots of water and pay attention to your body, you'll be alright in the heat.
Thanks jimandkate
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