i love going under bridges
there nice and shaddy
WWboats
When it gets too hot practice in a whitewater boat. Surfing, rolling, low braces, deep holes… they all help keep you cool.
Being on the water affords a special ability to cool off very quickly by simply getting wet. When it gets really hot I do not bike or hike much, I paddle.
The rule for hot and humid paddling:
– Last Updated: Jun-12-11 11:35 AM EST –
No paddling in the shade ... except to stay in the shade
heat and humidity
Suggest the wearing of a great large brimmed, wicking and ventilated hat as the Tilleys and wearing a wicking SPF long sleeved shirt as in NRS rash guards. Been kayaking for about 15 years in Virginia and southwest Florida and have found this combo works best and find it is actually cooler than no hat and Tee shirt/shirtless. If you get thirsty, you’ve gone too long without hydrating. However, if you drink too much water, your electrolite levels get screwed up so take along some Gatorade type drink too. If diabetic, then it becomes somewhat more complicated inasmuch as your body is burning calories trying to cool off. Best wishes and paddle on.
This is reminding me…
– Last Updated: Jun-12-11 10:59 PM EST –
there was a trip I took several years ago because I was asked to assist with a bunch of kids - some from a church group but there were some JDs thrown in to make it interesting, I guess. I don't know how they chose the group - I was just along to help set camp and keep an eye on a rather large herd. Among the other adult paddlers was a nurse and a retired Coast Guard guy.
It was very hot and humid. Most of the kids and all of the adults along had been paddling and/or working outside all summer and were conditioned as radiomix and string rightly mentioned earlier. Most of us were uncomfortable and tired by the end of the second day, but there was one of the more troubled kids in the group who developed some symptoms of serious heat exhaustion, verging on heat stroke. Wasn't sweating, and was very unfocused and acting like he hadn't slept in a week. Wouldn't eat and he was staggered a little. We cooled him and hydrated him, did everything the book called for, and he was pretty well recovered by evening. There were two other kids in the group who were acting almost like narcoleptics but were not as affected as the first boy. All of the kids who appeared to be suffering were taking prescription meds (administered by the nurse, I believe) for psychological conditions. (And I sure don't think there was any way they could have snuck off and gotten high. The group was well supervised and pretty tight.) Makes me wonder if a side affect of some of these prescription drugs might be the inability to adapt to or exert oneself in temperature extremes.
Correlation isn't necessarily causation, I know. But there sure seemed to be a more than coincidental situation there... the medicated kids just weren't handling the heat as well as anyone else.
There were no warnings on the meds they had about heat or exertion. (And I don't now recall exactly what meds they were). I'm not sure that testing is even done on drugs to see if they affect a person's, especially a youngster's, ability to work or merely tolerate temperature extremes.
But while the topic is up, I'm thinking that this experience suggests that it might be something worth considering and being aware of if paddling in hot weather. If taking meds of any sort or if paddling with folks (kids especially) who are it might be wise to be a little extra careful about how hard we push ourselves and how folks are acting. Being alert to the possibility of a problem goes a long way toward being prepared to deal with it should the need arise. Early recognition of a problem is usually a very good thing if we can do it.
Maybe someone here knows if there is some source of info on how various commonly prescribed medications might affect a person's temperature tolerances? It would be good to know.
any and all
Medicines can effect your ability to deal with heat. This includes over the counter pain meds. Kidneys are important for balancing fluids. Pills for blood pressure will effect this as well. But I’m not a pharmacist, so as long as this isn’t specifically listed just stay hydrated.
Those kids sound like they needed a banana. Losing a ton of fluids over days and then only replacing it with water can be harmful. People underestimate the need to replace their salts as well as water.
Ryan L.
Simple way to cool down
Take your hat, dip in the water and put back on. Cools you down nice and quick! And drink a lot of water.
cooling by hat
– Last Updated: Jun-14-11 11:09 AM EST –
I agree with Andy and others that suggest dipping your hat in the water to cool off while paddling in summer. My one improvement on that technique, on especially hot days, is to fill the hat with water and then dump the contents on my head. Repeat as needed.
ConnYak kayakers who trust their roll use the mentioned "rotary cooling" whenever they feel hot.
CT summers have been getting hotter for a few decades (won't touch the possible reason). I'm also afflicted with g2d's "gradually advancing old age" syndrome as well as some of the medical conditions that frequently accompany that syndrome. In spite of all that, I paddle all summer long ignoring the predicted (or actual) heat and humidity. Drink what you think is excessive water (if you don't have to pee a few times during a long paddle you may not be drinking enough water-a dark yellow color is also a sign of dehydration, drink more water-taught to me by Army medical experts)
Don't hide from the heat unless you have Medical conditions that require it. Do listen to your body for when to slow down, rest, seek shade or cool off and always bring and drink what you think is excessive water.
Dave
Uh oh… someone said…
Christ and the bible thumpers tattle tailed.
Fine, you thin skinned bastages, here ya go:
For Billy Bob’s sake (there better, whinea$$'s?), use common sense! You are paddling on the water for Johnny’s sake- Hydrate, keep cool & do not over strenuate.
Doesn’t take the web of “experts” to figure that one out, now does it.
Paddle easy,
Coffee
Excellent scenario!
– Last Updated: Jun-15-11 8:48 AM EST –
You're paddling along and someone in your group starts exhibiting strange behavior, hallucinations (maybe thinks some representative of a major world religion wishes to choose his words for him), confusion (might think everyone else in the world is moronic compared to him, or that the future US leadership is drawn from paddler's message boards), agitation (starts acting like Charlie Sheen launching "violent torpedoes of truth" which are obviously not true. You might suspect sudden-onset Tourette's syndrome, but can't see any tics. You're not an MD, but something is going awry here and it seems necessary to diagnose the problem and take appropriate action in order to get rid of it.
You might also suspect sociopathic behavior (Which really exists and annoyingly appears like that "mayhem guy" in those insurance commercials.) but that's apparently pretty rare and such an extreme diagnosis for a non-professional to leap to that the average guy might want to eliminate the possibility of heat-related illnesses first. The latter is, after all, more likely to be fatal to the victim in the short term. The former possibility would need a long case history to confirm and we're watching our bandwidth. Besides the mayhem guy is like a litterbug; can't be avoided or cured.
Heat-related illnesses are both more likely and more treatable.So that's where we need to return our focus.
But, I'm wondering, exactly how much more likely is a person to be affected by heat-related illnesses than these other possibilities?
More likely than most think (or it would have been mentioned a lot already - right up there with hypothermia which we talk about often...) and more likely than I would have thought also.
This from the REAL experts at NOAA's weather service:
"Heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States.The National Weather Service statistical data shows that heat causes more fatalities per year than floods, lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes combined. Based on the 10-year average from 2000 to 2009, excessive heat claims an average of 162 lives a year. By contrast, hurricanes killed 117; floods 65; tornadoes, 62; and lightning, 48."
(I assume that the numbers for hurricane, flood, etc were totals for those nine years and not averages per year or they would, in fact, exceed heat...)
"In the disastrous heat wave of 1980, more than 1,250 people died. In the heat wave of 1995 more than 700 deaths in the Chicago area were attributed to heat. In August 2003, a record heat wave in Europe claimed an estimated 50,000 lives."
Thus spake the real experts.
But why bother quoting? Here's the link:
http://www.weather.gov/om/heat/index.shtml
Toward the bottom there is a chart with colors indicating danger levels. Lack of acclimatization (as mentioned in this post), meds (mentioned), heart conditions, and age (mentioned) would, of course, move the higher hazard color over to the left a bit. Lots of good prevention techniques have been mentioned.
Its a good thing to consider and thanks to the OP for bringing it up. So many things we do are uncomfortable long before they are dangerous. Other things (whitewater for example) seem more dangerous that it often is on closer inspection. Discomfort and obvious danger are warnings and most of us recognize the threat immediately - its built into us by evolution.
But heat-related illnesses are sneakier than that or there wouldn't consistently be so many deaths from them. The sun beats down and soon the lethargy, fatigue, malaise, starts to set in. Instead of shade, gatoraid, and a swim, we want to just keep going and get through with it. We get confused and think coffee would help. That would be an error.
So what you are saying…
Especially in the last two sentences… Is to use common sense! Which is exactly what I had said in the first place.
Assess, adapt & overcome.
Thanks for “long winding” what I had already stated…
Paddle easy,
Coffee
You’re welcome
Except to note that for everyone “common sense” is learned. If a person is raised in a temperature controlled environment, drives in to work in one, holds a job in a temperature controlled environment, and always has… as many today all over the world do - and then takes up paddling? Many might even expect a medical team to bail them out if they get into trouble. Its getting to be a weird world, I’ll agree.
There’s no reason to expect “common sense” anymore.
But its the only world we’re in. We have to ride on it.
So perhaps when someone asks about it here, they are serving a useful purpose for themselves and perhaps others. (This post has served a purpose even if it seemed like an overly obvious question initially. I learned something - honestly, did you recall the 50,000 deaths in the European heat wave of '03? Is that not a tad sobering?) They shouldn’t be treated offensively. Nor should those who hold stricter or different religious views than you (or I) be subjected to deliberate offense. (And I’ve done it too, I’m ashamed to say…) It serves no purpose. True enough; its not how smart anyone is, its how they use their smarts. Too offend? To recognize and prevent a real health problem? To each his own, I guess.
But enough of this - there are missions to do today.