DRINK YOUR WATER

[mcrowder]

Last Saturday - a normal day, mid-to-high 70's in the afternoon, actually kind of chilly when the day started at 9.

Didn't feel especially thirsty during the day. Worked 6 games, and drank 1 gatorade between games 5 and 6. No abnormal loss of sweat, felt great all day.

Saturday night I started running a mild fever. No big deal. 2 Tylenol, and go to bed. Sunday morning, still a fever, getting achy. Advil, Tylenol, Advil, Tylenol. Dammit, which kid got me sick.

Monday, went to work. Left at noon feeling like crap. Temp 103.6 - went to the doctor. I was "dangerously dehydrated". Find out I now have a kidney infection. Took until this morning to get my temperature under 100 for more than an hour at a time.

Worst part - had to find a substitute for my 5 ball games this week!

Wanted to pass this along. If I can prevent just 1 of you from having the week I just had, it's worth it.

[JRutledge]

In my second year of umpiring and during the summer I was hospitalized for dehydration. I had worked several days of games in 90 degree heat with almost 100% humidly. I did not make much of an effort to drink water or Gatorade after each game or during the game. I did not feel like I wanted to drink anything during the games. I worked in some cases double headers behind the plate. I am not a huge sweater, so I was not concerned. I woke up one morning and I had very bad stomach pains. The pain was so bad that I could not walk downstairs to have a family member take me to the hospital. I was hospitalized for 2 or 3 days. I missed about a week of games for my pain. After that point I drink water or sports drinks on a regular basis. I was even told that the sports drinks were better for you than water as it related to hydration. I have not had a problem in 8 years.

Peace

[David B]

Originally posted by mcrowder
Last Saturday - a normal day, mid-to-high 70's in the afternoon, actually kind of chilly when the day started at 9.

Didn't feel especially thirsty during the day. Worked 6 games, and drank 1 gatorade between games 5 and 6. No abnormal loss of sweat, felt great all day.

Saturday night I started running a mild fever. No big deal. 2 Tylenol, and go to bed. Sunday morning, still a fever, getting achy. Advil, Tylenol, Advil, Tylenol. Dammit, which kid got me sick.

Monday, went to work. Left at noon feeling like crap. Temp 103.6 - went to the doctor. I was "dangerously dehydrated". Find out I now have a kidney infection. Took until this morning to get my temperature under 100 for more than an hour at a time.

Worst part - had to find a substitute for my 5 ball games this week!

Wanted to pass this along. If I can prevent just 1 of you from having the week I just had, it's worth it.

Whew, that's tough. I learned a long time ago when I was calling in the TX heat. I had an old umpire friend who had been calling forever, he drank a little water between every inning.

I started doing the same and have never had a problem - it really works.



Thanks
David

[DG]

I generally carry a bottle of water to every game especially after it warms up. When it gets hot the bottle becomes a quart water cooler, and for a DH on a real hot day I have a half gallon water cooler. That is unless it is a tournament and the tournament folks are real good at sending some pretty little teenager out with a bottle of water every 2 or 3 innnings. I have also carried a small bottle of water (4 or 5 ounce size) in my left side ball bag. It's about the same size and weight as a baseball and makes a drink readily available. When it is REALLY hot I carry a separate smaller cooler with crushed ice and water and a couple of blue rags to whipe down with every so often. I put a teaspoon of spirits of ammonia in the slushy water.

Water is generally all that is needed for HS ball because the games are before summer and they are late afternoon or early evening games.

[bluezebra]

Originally posted by DG
I generally carry a bottle of water to every game especially after it warms up. When it gets hot the bottle becomes a quart water cooler, and for a DH on a real hot day I have a half gallon water cooler. That is unless it is a tournament and the tournament folks are real good at sending some pretty little teenager out with a bottle of water every 2 or 3 innnings. I have also carried a small bottle of water (4 or 5 ounce size) in my left side ball bag. It's about the same size and weight as a baseball and makes a drink readily available. When it is REALLY hot I carry a separate smaller cooler with crushed ice and water and a couple of blue rags to whipe down with every so often. I put a teaspoon of spirits of ammonia in the slushy water.

Water is generally all that is needed for HS ball because the games are before summer and they are late afternoon or early evening games.

Not where I live. The temperature hits the 90s and sometimes low 100s in April and May. I worked the College of the Desert Spring Vacation Tournaments for three years. "Coolest" temp was 95. And no shade to use between innings. My wife would keep a small cooler with pints of Gatorade, and a small towel on ice. Between innings, I would drink the Gatorade, and she would put the cold damp towel on the back of my neck. Never had a problem.

Bob

[danreeves1973]

Down here in Texas, pretty much the whole South, from May first on you have to hydrate heavily. Before I started umpiring I'd worked construction jobs in the summer and have been a volunteer firefighter for several years. Drinking plenty of water is a must for any activity in the heat, and don't depend on your thirst to be your guide. Generally by the time you're thirsty, you're getting to the edge of being dehydrated. I generally try and drink 8oz or more between each half inning, haven't had any problems so far.

One thing also, use sunscreen. Sounds minor, but I'm a red-headed white boy, and I've already had one suspicious looking mole cut off my face two years ago. Skin cancer is no joke.

[largeone59]

You wouldn't believe how much it helps to dring a big glass of water/gatorade BEFORE you go out. If you feel yourself getting thirsty and you mouth is a bit dry and pasty, too late- you're allready dehydrated.

If you know you're going to work a double header or if you know it will be hotter than hell the next day, make sure you drink a glass or two of water or gatorade some time in the evening. Dehydration can actually be prevented much earlier than when it will occur.

[mbyron]

Problem with large's advice is that you have to micturate throughout the game that way.

Better: drink and drink your water until you can drink no more, up to TWO HOURS BEFORE game time. Then stop. You will saturate your tissues, and you will get rid of all the excess prior to game time.

Then, during the game, have small sips between innings. That will keep you until you can refill after the game.

[Tim C]

Honest question here:

WHY, 20 years ago this was not an issue and now it is?

Must be Global warming, right?

Strange.

[DG]

Originally posted by Tim C
Honest question here:

WHY, 20 years ago this was not an issue and now it is?

Must be Global warming, right?

Strange.

Less games in hot weather.

[Bob Lyle]

Originally posted by Tim C
Honest question here:

WHY, 20 years ago this was not an issue and now it is?

Honest Answer:

20 years ago three things were different. First, the average American adult weighed 10-20 lbs less than today. That may not sound like a lot of weight, but it's a huge amount when one considers the cooling capacity of the body. 10% more body weight requires about 20% more cooling effort. Sweating is the way that the body cools itself and water and salt are the components of sweat.

Second, there was a medical train of thought that went back decades that the body could adjust to less water. This was a half truth at best. The body adjusts to too little water by raising its operating temperature which leads to third item.

Higher body temperatures lead to a supressed immune system which leads to more disease. Diseases like those described in this thread are the result of an elevated temperature. By the end of the Vietnam war, it was further recognized that proper hydration was necessary to prevent kidney stones. Kidney stones are one the most painful conditions known to man and often difficult to treat. Doctors figured out that by doubling the recommended daily intake of water, the average person could dramatically reduce the occurance of kidney stones. That's one of the primary reasons that we have seen such a dramatic emphasis on drinking lots of water. Excessive water drinking causes the kidneys to work overtime and produce clear urine. The calcium deposits present in rich yellow urine that form into kidney stones are unable to form in almost clear urine.

[GarthB]

Originally posted by Tim C
Honest question here:

WHY, 20 years ago this was not an issue and now it is?

Must be Global warming, right?

Strange.

It must partly be related to where one was 20 years ago, Tee. Hydration was an issue that I was familiar with 30 years ago.

[Tim C]

First, I am not talking about you specifically.

I am talking about umpires in "general" . . .

Bob has given a very nice, well thoughtout answer that makes sense.

Never, 25 or 30 years ago, did I see an umpire carry a thermos or bottle of water on to a field.

While it is true that I have worked much of my career in the Willamette Valley in the Pacific Northwest and in Seattle where there aren't to many 100* days -- BUT -- I have worked all up and down the West Coast and during the "good old days" it was rare to even have a drinking fountain in the dugouts.

Second, because of your health issues I have learned how important Hydration is yet I still could never be convinced to take a bottle of water to the field.

We are fortunate during summer baseball that "most" fields where we work there is some type of snack bar . . . these people always seem interested in keeping umpires "wet".

Thanks to Bob Lyle . . . great answer.

[TBBlue]

Thanks Bob for the great info on the benefits of water. Right on the mark in my opinion.

One of the other issues, for umpires, that wasn't present 20-30 years ago is the inside chest protector. I wear a Wilson, and the closed foam right against your body does not breathe at all. It is like a blanket. Definitely causes an increase in heat at the chest area, and if you are workings doubles on the plate in 90* temps, it puts a tremendous strain on the body. These protectors are quite comfortable in February, for the same reason.

[Carl Childress]

Originally posted by mcrowder
Last Saturday - a normal day, mid-to-high 70's in the afternoon, actually kind of chilly when the day started at 9.

Didn't feel especially thirsty during the day. Worked 6 games, and drank 1 gatorade between games 5 and 6. No abnormal loss of sweat, felt great all day.

Saturday night I started running a mild fever. No big deal. 2 Tylenol, and go to bed. Sunday morning, still a fever, getting achy. Advil, Tylenol, Advil, Tylenol. Dammit, which kid got me sick.

Monday, went to work. Left at noon feeling like crap. Temp 103.6 - went to the doctor. I was "dangerously dehydrated". Find out I now have a kidney infection. Took until this morning to get my temperature under 100 for more than an hour at a time.

Worst part - had to find a substitute for my 5 ball games this week!

Wanted to pass this along. If I can prevent just 1 of you from having the week I just had, it's worth it.

Kent Holm, a contributing writer for Officiating.com, has provided us with a four-part series (Fluid Dynamics) on the latest research into hydration. The separate articles will show up on 18-19-24-26 May. Here's one section from Part I:

Feeling "thirsty"

Thirst is defined as "a sensation of dryness in the mouth and throat caused by need of liquid" and "the physical condition resulting from this need."

Conventional wisdom indicates that by the time you are thirsty, you are already somewhat dehydrated. Another NFHS recommendation is to drink enough to replace any weight loss from exercise, and, ideally, to do that within two hours of exercising. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) President W. Larry Kenney, Ph.D., backs that up, indicating that "... thirst alone is not the best indicator of dehydration or the body's fluid needs."

He goes on to say: Relying on thirst to determine an active individual's fluid replacement needs is inadequate, especially so in older exercisers. As we age, thirst becomes an even poorer indicator of the body's fluid needs.That's sound advice for officials who are certainly "older" on average than the players we officiate. We keep getting older, while the kids we officiate, maintain their same relative age. But of course we still need to keep up with them!

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