Shocking headlines
Several times a year while covering lifting events, I have to deal with individuals who have pushed themselves too far. They have dehydrated themselves to the point of lightheadedness and even passing out. The athlete will start to feel lightheaded and may even stumble and fall or worse—get crushed under a heavy lift. The situation can become critical quickly if the proper steps are not taken immediately.
The effects of dehydration are more devastating then most people realize. The use of “over and/or under the counter” supplementation/pharmacological diuretics are widespread in the world of powerlifting/bodybuilding/wrestling/mixed martial arts, and their effects are the most devastating to those particular athletes trying to make weight. In some cases, diuretics have lead to death. Recently, the interest in the UFC has lead to similar problems being noted in those sports.
The problem is the effects of salt and the crossing of the blood brain barrier. You will actually change the pressure inside of your brain when you dehydrate to extreme levels. In short, it makes your brain swell, and that can kill you. Most of the time, you will die of other problems associated with neurological brain dysfunction such as a heart attack or stroke.
The basic competition scenario
You are drinking two gallons of water per day, and you taper quickly so that your kidneys continue to remove as much water from your body as possible. In some cases, you use various supplements or drugs to force the kidneys to lose even more water. The common problem is losing too much water. Then you might feel lightheaded, but instead of drinking water, you reach for the Pedialyte. Once you have ingested a salt solution, your body is still geared to quickly remove the water from the solution, and you are left with the high concentration of salt in your body. This will set off a chemical reaction in your body, and you are left with fluid problems that can be fatal. The high salt concentration will literally pull fluid off of the brain, and that is very dangerous.
Don’t make the mistake of taking in salt solutions. Drinking Gatorade or Pedialyte can actually make your situation worse. Your body has minerals in the bloodstream called electrolytes. The two main types are potassium and sodium, which occur in a 2:1 ratio, respectively. When you drink these solutions containing salt, the body can go into shock because of the ingestion of high levels of electrolytes. Several problems can occur as a direct result of consuming drinks that contain high levels of salt, and these are compounded by the use of other stimulants such as caffeine or ephedrine. Your electrolytes are even more unstable at ages past thirty and/or if you are ill or had recent trauma.
How Pedialyte or Gatorade can make you very ill
Drinking electrolyte solutions when you have signaled to your kidneys to get rid of as much water as possible is simple. You drink the solution and more and more of the salt stays behind as you continue to remove fluids from your body. Eventually, the salt content is so high that it can become imbalanced (potassium to sodium), or the high concentration of salt will suck fluid out of your brain or heart or some other organ that you might need to live.
Dehydration alone is dangerous. You don’t have to just take in salt solutions or electrolyte solutions to be in danger. Not taking in fluids at all will result in dehydration, and that is very dangerous as well.
Two terms you must learn are hypernatremia and hyponatremia. Ann Fr Anesth Reanim [0]; Unite de reanimation chirurgicale et traumatologique, departement d'anesthesie-reanimation, CHU Pellegrin, 1, place Amelie-Raba-Leon, 33076 Bordeaux cedex, France.
Credits
Article by David Ryan, DC, Co-Chairman/Medical Director, Arnold Fitness Weekend,
Arnold Fitness Weekend Medical Team and Olympia Weekend. Special review and content by Brian F. Griffin, MD, FACEP, DABAPM, DAAPM, Co-Chairman, Arnold Fitness Weekend Medical Team, Executive Director of all expo athletic events. Additional review by Brian Hiestand, MD, FACE, Arnold Fitness Weekend, Ohio State University Emergency Department Physician; Joe Donovan, MD, Director of Physique Athletes, Co-Chairman, Arnold Fitness Weekend; Randy Yee, DO, Orthopedic Surgeon, Co-Chairman, Olympia Weekend; Loren Leidheiser, DO, FACEP, Director of St. Ann’s and Mt. Carmel Hospital’s Emergency Departments; Rick Cavender, MD, FACEP, Certified Ringside Physician; and Don Norris, MD, FACEP, Ohio State University, Emergency Department Physician.
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