Re: [pct-l] Dehydration, Salt depletion, blisters and swollen feet, loss of appetite

["Margo J. Chisholm" <margo@tothesummit.com>]

Lots to think about here. Nice to believe my ERT may be good for
something! I don't know of any way to monitor electrolyte level. Urine
color is about hydration not electrolytes. Can you take in too much salt
or potassium? I will be taking potassium as part of daily supplements
but am real aware of the kind of weakness that people talk about and
believe it to be a combination of lack of water and electrolytes. don't
have any great wisdom for solutions. Just honor the quality and variety
of information that comes across these emails. Thanks Joanne.

namaste, PCTCoach

Joanne Lennox wrote:
> 
> I have been reading a lot of the journals that are on the web ( Yes,
> William Stenzel"s site is a real treat!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!
> Looking forward to some more installations of your PCT saga.)
> 
> A common thread that runs thru many of these journals is the presence of
> swollen feet and incapacitating blisters soon after leaving Campo going
> North.  Many people are forced to stop for a while by Big Bear or before.
> 
> A number of posts have also mentioned feeling sore, enervated-tired,
> cramps, chilled, and lacking an appetite.  These ALL are classical signs of
> dehydration.  According to the Kevin Sayers site swollen feet, blisters,
> and black toenails are also indicative of possible dehydration due to lack
> of electolytes, not lack of water intake.  It maybe that for many of us, we
> have now been trained to drink enough water, but not to monitor our
> electrolyte level and take enough salts. If salt levels are low, it doesn't
> matter how much we drink, we are still dehydrated.  It turns out that when
> sodium levels in the blood fall below a certain level, water from the blood
> plasma will be transferred into tissues external to the circulatory system,
> causing feet to swell.  Those swollen tissues are less able to support the
> mechanical abuse of running and walking on them. On This link, Karl King
> says "Heat, not water, causes blisters.  It is heat that drives the sweat
> rate up, the sodium levels down, and ultimately leads to blister
> formation...Stay cool, replace your lost electrolytes and blister and black
> toenails will be greatly reduced or eliminated."  The Ultra runners are
> talking about a LOT OF SALT (600-800mg, one prezel is 30 mg), much more
> than you get in gatorade.  A truhiker probably has a similar problem but
> more moderate.
> 
> For the truhiker starting in Campo, the problem is aggravated because it is
> probable that he/she is not heat adapted and is therefore sweating at lot,
> losing a lot of salt.  Any very hot day, any lengthy exertion can cause a
> lot of salt to be lost in sweating.
> 
> Many of the people who seem to be hardest hit with blisters and swollen
> feet are women ( Is this my imagination?). The Kevin Sayers site also
> mentions Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADT) which increases in times of stress,
> and for women is associated with a certain point in the menstral cycle (ERT
> anybody?), and causes bloating and retained water. Are Women getting a
> double whammy here?
> 
>  Of course swollen feet can also be caused by other things, especially
> increased capillary permeability associated with the repeated trauma of
> pounding your tootsies on the trail for long distances day after day,
> uphill and then down.
> 
> HOW DOES ONE KNOW HOW MUCH SALT OR POTASSIUM TO REPLACE, HOW DOES ONE
> MONITOR ONE'S ELECTOLYTE LEVEL???
> 
> (Urine color? Who pees in a nice white porcelein bowl on a thruhike?  Is
> that why the Sierras have all those nice white rocks? Big Leafed Maple
> leaves work well too.)
> 
> Peace,
> Goforth
> * From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  http://www.backcountry.net   *

-- 
Margo Chisholm
The Freedom Coach
Partnering you in having freedom in all areas of your life
970-704-9336    fax 970-704-9346
margo@tothesummit.com
http://www.tothesummit.com

"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."
-- e.e. Cummings


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