[rescue] Cooling (Long Message, sorry)

[George Adkins]

> You and probably most everyone here no doubt know not to drink too much
> water too quickly, but don't over do it on long-term quantity either --
> watch your pee and your state of mind.  You can O.D. on water alone, 
<snip>
Just a note to the folks out there, gastric distension, nausea and other 
factors will normally prevent adolecents or adults from drinking enough water 
to suffer from water intoxication.  The hazard for an average adult is very, 
very slight indeed.

>
> My Mom the nurse always warned us as kids not to drink too much water
> too quickly (and small children are the ones at most risk of water
> intoxication) but I've been reading more about people way over-doing it
> when they think they're in risk of de-hydration or even when they think
> it'll make them sweat more(*).  Even marathon runners are increasingly
> suffering (over one quarter of the finishing runners in a recent
> Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon were water intoxicated after the race).
>
Regardless of what your mom told you, much of this appears to be drawn 
verbatim from the article at : 
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/toomuchwater.htm
Please Cite your sources... : )

> People who eat a lot of "dry" foods will need to drink more during the
> day.  The average adult needs about 24-60 fl. oz. of liquid intake per
> 24-hrs, but even a long distance runner needs no more than 8-16 oz/hr
> while running on a hot day.
>
This depends entirely on the conditions.  I have been in conditions where 
forced fluid intake of 32 oz per hour was insufficient to prevent heat 
exhaustion and several cases of heatstroke.

Perhaps you could do a bit (more) research and we could discuss the finer 
points of this subject.

George