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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Don’t Let the Heat Win
Central Indiana, IN
By: Todd Arnold, MD
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Photo(s) By: submitted
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Here are the best ways athletes can reduce the impact of heat related illnesses
This time of year, avoiding the heat can be challenging. To ensure safety while participating in summer sports, you should find an indoor facility or simply wait for cooler weather.
But if you are going to play in the heat there are several things you can do to reduce your risk of experiencing serious health complications and make your time on the field more enjoyable.
Preparation has one of the strongest impacts on preventing health-related problems caused by overexposure to heat A simple check of the weather on the internet, or in the daily newspaper, will give you a great deal of information to prepare you for the following day’s game or practice. The level of temperature, humidity and intensity of the sun should dictate how you plan and prepare for a game.
For example, the intensity of the weather should prompt you to consider clothing changes. For a midday game, when the sun is the most intense, try wearing light-colored clothing made up of materials that transfer the moisture away from your body, which will decrease absorbed UV rays and create a cooling effect on the skin. You also can prolong the time you are able to play by heading for the shade during breaks and timeouts, even for just a few minutes.
Proper nutrition and hydration the day before may be the most important step for playing in the heat. If your body’s “tank” is full going in, you will be much more tolerant of the heat. A meal high in carbohydrates and protein can help fuel the body prior to intense physical activity.
Also, as a rule, athletes should drink enough fluid the day before a game or practice so that the urine produced is clear. This signals that the body is maximally hydrated. Appropriate hydration must continue the day of the exposure, but not as much volume is required if suitable intake was accomplished the day before.
Some athletes try to take in all needed fluids the day of the event, but this can lead to a full or bloated sensation in the stomach and may decrease athletic abilities. Learn what your body likes by experimenting with different drinks, ranging from water to sports drinks of varying caloric value. Be mindful of caffeinated drinks as some studies have shown them to cause dehydration. If you are a regular coffee, tea or soda drinker and you choose to forego these caffeinated drinks, make sure you replace the volume of water you would have had with another source of fluid.
Sweat production is the primary source of water loss during physical activity and must be replaced at the same rate it depletes. During intense physical activity in hot environments, 2 to 3 liters of fluid can be lost through the skin every hour, in an attempt to cool the body. In the heat, every break should be a prompt to drink.
In addition to losing fluid, sweating also causes the loss of sodium, potassium and chloride within your body, which need to be replaced. Consuming salty foods and snacks can play a big part in replacing these natural chemicals. The salt in food also will help the body to retain the water being put back into your system.
One of the hardest things to accomplish at all levels of athletic activity is refilling the body’s “tank” after extended exposure to heat, and preparing for the next event, be it later in the day or the day following a game or practice.
Every year emergency departments are faced with athletes that did not prepare or pay attention to the details of hydration, causing them to suffer from heat related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Symptoms of heat exhaustion can be as subtle as dizziness, mild cramping or confusion. Heat stroke is a more severe and can result in mental status changes and loss of consciousness.
Listen to your body and if you are having signs of one of these heat illnesses, retreat to a cool environment and start re-hydrating immediately. With appropriate cooling one should feel better in less than an hour, but returning to intense physical activity should be done on another day.
If an athlete is showing signs of progressive confusion, passing out, or cramping in multiple muscle groups, medical attention should be sought immediately.
For more information visit www.methodistsports.com or www.clarian.org.
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