Bad Day At Black Rock

[crash325]

Had things that needed to be done today (8/13/13)
Truck tire with a weird leak. Will go for weeks & not loose a pound. Next day almost flat.
Front tractor tire that will not stay fixed.
AC on truck not working. Want to get it fixed, pick tubes for truck & tractor, low on beer & get a few groceries +Bird seeds.
First It was over 80 degrees before I started. Belt on compressor loose, big pain to tighten. Air up low truck tire, remove tractor tire & take with me to have tube installed.
By then it was 105 & going up fast. First stop get beer. Second stop tire store, no tubes the right size. sent to warehouse, get tubes. Warehouse almost 20 miles away, All ready driven 50 miles. Missed the turn bunch of extra miles.
To garage, by this time I'm near a heat stroke. Have been drinking cool water & pouring it over my head, but getting woozy anyway.
1+ Hour at garage, AC compressor is gone, rebuild $500 that I didn't have. Next payday.
Pick up a few groceries. Skip having tires fixed, get out of the heat.
Only another 45 miles & I'm home, pick up bird food on the way.
More water inside & over me. Woozy & getting shaky.
Home at last - put have too things in barn fridge / freezer. Stand under mister on back deck, swamp box doing a fine job, very cool in house.
All at once chills set in. Now I need to get warm. OH well, tomorrow will be a better day.
Thanks for listening

 

[dmccarty]

Make sure you eat or drink sports drinks with replacement minerals, especially Potassium. Bananas, nuts, OJ, and fruits have lots of Potassium. Water keeps you hydrated but those minerals need to be replaced.

Sports drinks have too much sugar in them and make me sick. I used to eat quite a few energy bars, Cliff and Luna, before we had the house built on our land and I would work 10-12 hour days. Now, I just eat peanuts and dried pineapple and/or apples. To drink, I mix a bit of OJ with water. If it is REALLY hot outside I make my own sports drink that was posted on TBN by a doctor named Rch back in 2000!

The whole thread, which was about heat stroke, is here: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/1384-heat-stroke-isnt-cool.html

Rch's formula is below but I leave out the Karo syrup. I have enough stored calories, I don't need to replace them. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

An electrolytic replenishment fluid such as Pedialyte can easily be made. The key ingredient is Morton's Lyte Salt, a 50-50 mix of KCl and NaCl, mixed with Karo syrup[dextrose/glucose] and sodium bicarbonate with H2O.One specific formula per liter is one teaspoon Morton's Lite Salt, 1/2 teaspoon NaHCO3 and 6 teaspoons of Karo syrup. People with less than perfect kidneys [kidneys get rid of excess potassium] or on certain drugs,usually for high blood pressure or congestive heart failure, such as 'ace inhibitors'[type 1 or 2] such as captopril(Capoten),Vasotec,Diovan or if already on KCl supplement should consult their physician.Ace inhibitors inherently cause the kidneys to save potassium and are often combined with diuretics that excrete K and Na in the urine so that the net effect is a wash and ,therefore,a potassium suppelment is not needed assuming the kidney function is good or, at least stable. Lemonade spiked with just a teaspoon of Morton's Lite Salt per liter supplies enough of the essential K & Na.People already on a diuretic such as hydrochlorthiazide or furosemide[Lasix] are dehydrated by definition and sweating and heavy work [each exhaled breath is 100% saturated and can add-up to several liters of fluid loss when the respiratory rate increases.] When you add in the loss from sweat, urine, stool to the above "insensible" loss this can add up to several liters a day. One good rule is to drink enough fluid so you have pale urine with some K and Na as dicuussed above. Assuming you have good kidneys and certain drugs as described are taken in consideration the kidneys can deal with excess free water[ i.e. water with a little less osmolarity than 0.9%[normal saline] by excreting the extra water and retainig the appropiate electrolytes so that you don't become overly diluted,nor concentratd with a proper total volume.

NaHCO3 is sodium bicarbonate-Arm & Hammer baking soda- that stuff kids mix with acetic acid[vinager] and launch a million rockets.
Mg or magnesium shouldn't be a problem for the short haul, a day or two, assuming a varied diet is part of the equation.
Diabetes mellitus is a whole other matter, varying from minor to major adjustments. Diabetes is like a triangle with calories on one point, exercise on the second point and insulin[or pills] on the third one- you change one factor and you got to adjust the other two in order to keep the blood glucose in a normal range. This can be relatively easy in maturity-onset(type 1-over 30)with lots of exceptions and usually more difficult in juvenile diabetes,also with lots of exceptions.
As discussed Karo syrup(sugar/glucose/dextrose/sucrose, pretty much the same)can be left out if you don't need the calories. Lightly sweetened(artificially or with sugar) lemonade fortified with a little Morton Lyte Salt, NaHCO3 drank a little bit often so that the urine is alway pale is the way to go. A 7-11 52 ounce insulated container sounds like just the ticket- like 3 or 4 or even more a day. Kidneys can deal with excess-they just pee it out. What they can't deal with is shortage.

I have gotten muscle cramps in the middle of the night after a very hard day of manual labor. But if I eat or drink stuff with plenty of Potassium I do not get the cramps. If I REALLY have to be out in the heat, I will wear a hat and put wet towel that is folded so it will fit under the hat AND drape down to cover my neck. This helps keep the head and neck cooler and really makes a difference.

Once, I was working in the summer sun, on new asphalt, in a polyester uniform wearing a bunch of gear. All I had to do was stand in place and talk to people. But that polyester uniform is a sweat suit and after 5-6 hours I was really feeling it even though I was drinking plenty of water. I took a break and found a banana. Eating that banana was like flicking a switch from on to off and I was the switch. I was back to normal from eating that one banana. If I had not had that fruit I think I would have been in deep trouble in a few more hours.

Later,
Dan

 

[GGB]

This is a good reminder to any of us who are working in hot weather. After an episode of heat exhaustion or possibly even heat stoke (can't say for certain as I didn't go to a Doctor for treatment) about 20 years ago, I have to drink fluids almost all the time now regardless of the temperature or my activity.

Add in the dieretic for controlling my blood pressure, throw in a few years of age, and you really do need to be smarter about drinking enough fluids. I may have to try this recipe, because most so called sports drinks either taste lousy to me or have sugar which I really don't need any more than I already get.

The one thing I am doing is having a banana every morning at breakfast, along with yogurt. But I'll also admit that I also "have" to have a muffin, roll or donut with my banana and yogurt. My excuse? That way I don't crave sugary or fatty foods for the rest of the day. Whether that is true or not, I don't know , except that it seems to work for me. I just need to remember to eat bananas at other times of the day.
Thanks again for posting.

 

[crash325]

Thanks guys.
Heat itself does not normally bother me too much if I'm in the shade. Sun was really strong yesterday, time spent on truck, tractor & compressor (Over an hour) was in direct sun. I could feel my skin burning through a heavy knit cotton shirt.
Though all would be well once AC was fixed.

Thanks Again

 

[MoKelly]

Such is life in Arizona in the summer. I was in Tucson in October a couple years ago for a tennis tournament. We went to lunch and parked the car in the sun. Came back out and, no joke, my wife burned her arm getting in the car and having her arm touch the metal door opener that had been sitting in the sun for an hour or so. Now, this was October and not August. Brutal.

Good luck.

MoKelly

 

[farmgirl19]

crash; Be careful. I'm glad you are OK enough to post about it, but as you know, heat exhaustion/heat stroke is serious.

I hope things go smoother for you today.

 

[crash325]

Such is life in Arizona in the summer. I was in Tucson in October a couple years ago for a tennis tournament. We went to lunch and parked the car in the sun. Came back out and, no joke, my wife burned her arm getting in the car and having her arm touch the metal door opener that had been sitting in the sun for an hour or so. Now, this was October and not August. Brutal.

Good luck.

MoKelly

It is know that cars left in the sun here, can & do catch fire. Have to make sure the windows are down a bit.

 

[farmgirl19]

One can "brand themselves" with a seat belt buckle too!

 

[bcp]

Tucson? Hot? People from Blythe and Yuma go there to cool off on summer weekends.



Bruce

 

[crash325]

Tucson? Hot? People from Blythe and Yuma go there to cool off on summer weekends.



Bruce

Rode a Harley out on a of Tucson early 1 morning heading west. Stopped in Toltec & dank two huge glasses of Iced tea. 90 Miles to Gila Bend. Rolled up to 90 /95. Longest hour of my life.

Got to Gila Bend, pulled into an Indian Gas station, stepping off the bike, head went in circles. Inside, paper towels on my neck, water over my head. Eventually got gas, went across the street to the "Space Age Motel" & got a room. At 2 am rode out in a "t" shirt, 90 / 95 to Yuma, gas up, 90/ 95 to the top of the mountain.

Gila Bend Often is the hot spot in the nation. Cooled down at my place to day only 108.:laughing::laughing::laughing: