Blood Pressure...

[Susan Otcenas]

I supported my randonneuring club's 600K this weekend. My volunteer position was at the overnight control. We sent a rider to the hospital in an ambulance after he passed out while sitting in a chair. Hit the deck HARD. He was admitted to the hospital and given FIVE liters of IV fluid. He peed out ~1.5 during that time frame, so he was easily 3 liters down. Dehydration --> low blood pressure --> blackout. Fortunately, he's OK now and was released after ~16 hours in the hospital.

I sometimes chuckle when I read articles about hyponatremia (basically, over-hydration leading to low blood sodium concentrations.) Yeah, it happens from time to time, I suppose, but FAR more endurance athletes suffer from DEhydration than anything else.

[OakLeaf]

I sometimes chuckle when I read articles about hyponatremia (basically, over-hydration leading to low blood sodium concentrations.) Yeah, it happens from time to time, I suppose, but FAR more endurance athletes suffer from DEhydration than anything else.

As someone who struggles with both hyponatremia and dehydration ... IMO it all stems from the salt-phobia generated by the media. In myyyyyyy day they passed out salt tablets at practices when the weather was hot ... we even had these things called "PE classes" that kids participated in whether they were talented athletes or not, and we all got salt tablets. Now, active people get the idea in their head that they can get by on the same amount of salt as people whose exercise routine consists of 12-oz curls in front of the TV. So when they're active, they're already borderline hyponatremic, and then they take in a barely adequate amount of water and a grossly inadequate amount of salt, and Bad Things Happen.

It's just maddening, really. Sodium is the only mineral that human beings (maybe all mammals?) cannot get from a diet of exclusively plant and animal foods. That's why there are so many place names based on salt ... why Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt ... etc. But because companies put too much salt in foods that people shouldn't eat at ALL, people get this idea drilled into their heads that salt is bad for them ...