Salt in Survival

[greg2935]

Thought I would give you guys a few links to help!

Why you need salt:

http://www.foodsciencebureau.com.au/nutrit/salt.htm

Why, when doing bushcraft or other related activities (i.e. when you are more suseptible to digestion problems, and lack of quick medical care), it might be a good idea to have a little salt in your pack:

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/diarrhoea/en/

I should emphasise that the vast majority of trips, you do not require salt (although it is a useful material for bushcraft in its own right). However, it does come into its own if you get a serious problem like Cholera or Dysentry, in which case it may be a lifesaver. As for symptoms, this is the best place I know for desease symptoms without the technical language:
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/
for the technical language and far more comprehensive:
http://www.diseasesdatabase.com
Hope that helps

Greg

 

[SARHound]

Hound:

In my brew kit I carry two or three packets of Emergen-C hydration drink. In my Altoids-tin PSK I carry two packets of iodized salt. So I think I have the necessary goodies to prevent problems. (In fact, I also have antidiarrhetic medicine in my PSK.)

The trouble is, having never experienced electrolyte imbalance I wouldn't know when to use either in an effort to rehydrate myself properly.

The best situation I can imagine is feeling dull-witted or terribly weak after days of sweating, and deciding to mix up the Emergen-C or add a packet of salt and some sugar to a liter of water and drink that in the hope that I'd feel better.

Beyond this, do you have any suggestions?

Bear

First off congrats on carrying some solution as it can be a lefesaver under certain circumstances. Plain old gator aid powder is cheaper than dedicated rehydration formula.

Believe it or not heat exhaustion comes quickly and easily to many people every year and is usually caused by too much internal body heat combined with not enough water intake.

It is this reason alone why the FLorida Gators football team developed gator aid in the first place as their players were dropping like flies during summer training camp in your home state .

The trick to hydration is to avoid it at all costs in the first place. Many say get your salt and sugar intake from food. This is a fair satement for 90% of the time however its flawed in that when in a situation where you are on the edge of heatstroke you do not feel like eating or can't keep it down. Food minerals will keep you balanced for a while but soon enough the sweat and heat depletes your body of salts and sugars that must be replaced.

My suggestion and what works for me and many others in the SAR biz is that you sip regularly on a solution of gator aid type drink that is watered down 3 fold from the original drink or mixing directions. The diluted formula is a watered down version of gator aid we know today and was found to be the ideal mix of sugar water and salts but it doesn't taste great so they sweetened it up for retail sales. My triathlete friends and and all who try it swear it gives them stamina and the don't cramp as much not to mention they ward of thirst and deydration etc...

If you don't drink constantly you risk overheating and then a slightly more concentrated drink is needed. The theory behind why the drink works is that the large intestine absorbs 2-3 times more water faster because it has a little sugar and salt in it. Its more chemicaly complicated than that but you get the idea.

Many are correct in this thread however for most circumstances plain water is fine. But it is alarming how fast one becomes in need of salts and sugars in their water to avoid heat exhaustion and heaven forbid, heat stroke.

HOund

 

[Carcajou Garou]

Stuart is so right about salt loss occurring in a matter of hours, in the mines where hard work is required in heat salt tablets are given by the leader, otherwise men just fade to fast and cramp up and become fuzzy in the head. Always carry some salty foods (junk foods are good) and or salt packets.
just a thought

 

[Wildpacker]

"The use of such tablets for general electrolyte replacement has been discredited for many years. Salt tablets only accelerate dehydration in most circumstances. They should only be used sparingly in exceptional circumstances, generally under the direction of a physician, and only when there are substantial quantities of water available and the patient has already been significantly re-hydrated."


I'd hate to wait till I'm significantly rehydrated before considering electrolytic balance. Hyponatremia is a big killer when well-meaning people give water to someone suffering from serious dehydration. Moral is not to drink much on the way back up unless it's an electroloytic drink under medical supervision. Otherwise it's small sips all the way.

 

[spamel]

I was told once that if you put salt on your food and cannot taste the salt, your salt levels are low. When I had drank lots of water in Oman, I would put a sachet of salt on my food. Sometimes I couldn't taste any salt, so I believe this advice to be spot on.

 

[RovingArcher]

Stuart is very right that it can be a matter of a few short hours and you can become incapacitated. During sweat lodge, which can last as long as 2-4 hours to complete, I have been so weak and disoriented when leaving the lodge that I couldn't stand once out of lodge. Muscle cramping, extreme weakness, upset stomach, headache and confused thinking processes are all involved I think. When I started using Emergen "C" prior to going into ceremony, I haven't encountered any further symptoms of dehydration. We always have a small feast afterwards, which usually includes juices, beans, soups, breads, etc. to help boost our strength.

 

[woodrat]

the reseon they stopped using salt tablets over here in the militaryis that it was found that if swallowed whole, the tablets could cause "burns" on the stomach linning. I've also read this in a couple of other places. I will try to locate that info. I normally just puor small amouts in my canteens and take it that way. It is essential, I can tell you from exsperience in the mohove dessert and the desert of eastern oregon, it can easily cripple your ability to operate not having it.

 

[Pict]

I carry salt in my PSK, three grams and I'm thinking of adding more. I know I sweat profusely and have experienced severe dehydration. It was a horrible experience.

I often have the opportunity to take large groups of teens on hikes and I always carry oral rehydration mix with me, many packets. It always seems like one or more people will lag behind or just plain drop out. Once we had a foot race at a camp and a girl dropped out and started convulsing etc. We gave her electrolyte tablets from the first aid kit and about a liter of water. She recovered very quickly. I've seen this many times. An hour rest in the shade with oral rehydration solution and it's like filling a car with gasoline (petrol).

This doesn't often happen in people with a healthy diet but people suffering from malnutrition are very susceptible. They live on borderline failure all the time and added stress can easily push them over the edge. Physical conditioning varies widely as does the general level of hydration people are already living with before the start of the ordeal. Many people, especially in hot climates live in cronic dehydration.

Brazilians tend to eat alot of salt in their food, enough to make most Americans complain. These same Americans often drop like flies due to the heat. I think most American live in cronic dehydration.

Sometimes you can wipe your forehead here and come away with salt crystals. That is very rare in my experience in North America. In the tropics salt is an essential component of emergency kit IMHO. You don't need to overdo it.

Starting with a healthy diet and normal electrolyte levels you could go a day or two in severe heat with no ill effects but once they start you are in for a sufferable existence until you take care of it. Surviving three day ordeal in severe heat could come down to the salt you packed in. If not for you than for some other member of the group who started farther down the scale than you did. Mac