How to Prevent Heat Stroke Simple Rules to Avoid Heat-Related Problems at Re-enactments Avoiding heat stroke/heat injury is not difficult, but requires absolute and rigid adherence to certain rules or dos & don'ts. Years of experience in real world military field medicine has taught me these simple rules. 1. BE IN SHAPE! Reenacting involves running around, carrying loads etc etc. If you are a out of shape or have medical problems, limit your activity to what you know you can do - if this means being a camp guard half of the weekend so be it. 2. ACCLIMATIZE: If you are going to be out a lot in the heat reenacting, try and spend plenty of time at home in the heat go for walks in the heat of the day etc. - start slowly to help build resistance. If going to a much hotter area, try to get there a few days early and get used to it BEFORE you run around in heavy marching order. 3. HYDRATE: WATER! WATER! WATER! Water is the best fluid to have. Sports drinks like Gatorade (tin) contain carbos which act as osmotic diuretics, and unless you are running a marathon or haven't eaten for 2-3 days you don't need the calories, likewise the electrolytes are not needed, especially with the salty diet we eat reenacting. Caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea are diuretics, and actually dry you out the more of them you drink - its ok to drink coffee but take extra water to deal with this. Alcohol, another diuretic, and it also interferes with thermoregulation -be moderate and don't drink & exercise in the heat. The absolute worst stuff is soda pop. Contains tons of caffeine and sugar, a double diuretic whammy. Many of our younger reenactors go to the skinners row and have a lot of pop and think they are ok, but they have made things worse. Watch out for the younger set. 4. WATER BELONGS IN YOU, NOT YOUR CANTEEN: There are a fair number of recorded instances of men dying with water in their canteens they were saving. Drink up early and often, if you get empty and no water is in sight take a hit and quit... hyperthermic brain damage is even worse (IMHO) than cardiac arrest Offtcers/NCOs have your men empty their canteens in to themselves COMPLETELY before battle at the last water point and fill up then, check canteens to ensure they were emptied. 5. IF YOU ARE THIRSTY YOU ARE ALREADY AT LEAST 15% DEHYDRATED: True fact, so drink before you are thirsty and drink often. 6. IF YOU ARE NOT URINATING ONCE EVERY 2 HRS OR SO, YOU ARE DEHYDRATED: Also, to the extent possible, check out the color of the flow - if it is dark yellow/orange it is highly concentrated and you're in trouble, urine in this situation should be clear or slightly yellow - one manual says you should be able to read a newspaper through 7 IF YOU DON'T FEEL WELL, YOU'RE SICK: Remember healthy hardened 20 year old soldiers DIED from heat illness/dehydration during the CW - for examples read about the march in the oppressive heat from VA to PA by the AoP before Gettysburg. The minute you start to feel sick STOP! Sit down and find water to re-hydrate.I am a REAL military doctor and these are real rules I enforce and have enforced in real combat situations. Officers & NCOs ENFORCE these rules on all soldiers, so should their re-enacting counterparts - ice is nice but water is a MUST... if it's not adequate or where it's not available fix the problem and stay off the field. I have treated FAR too many preventable heat injuries at reenactments. well above the levels that would be tolerated in the military. |
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