dehydration and DCS - gastrolyte

[iainwilliams]

Hello - We all know that dehydration can increase markedly the risk of decompresion sickness. Dehydration can develop many ways - urination, coffee injestion, hyperthermia, dive reflex, etc, etc. Remaining hydrated is VERY important to minimise a DCS hit.
Consuming copious glasses of water is the traditonal method of pre-dive hydration.

QUESTION: Would the addition of GASTROLYTE to the water (keeping to doseage recommedations) enhance the hydration of a diver by replacing and/or adding essential salts, glocose, etc.

I beleive it would, but I would like another medical opinion. Thank you and dive safe Iain

 

[kelpmermaid]

Is Gastrolyte the same as Pedialyte? Is it intended for dehydrated children?

 

[The Iceni]

Hi Iain,

The body is amazingly good at keeping its internal environment stable - so called homeostasis. The only time electrolyte replacement is needed is when the body loses water AND electrolytes in excess of those taken by mouth.

Examples include severe diarrhoeal illnesses, and vomiting for more than a day.

In the boiler rooms of steam-driven ships sufficient salts werre often lost from excessive perspiration to cause electrolyte loss when it was not replaced with the drinking water; producing "stoker's' cramps". This also occurs in the humid jungle warfare environment.

In each case the lost electolytes (salt and glucose) are now replaced in the drinks in appropriately small concentrations.

None of these preparations counter dehydration itself. Only water can do that. They counter dehydration with associated electrolyte loss.

In fact, if you ingest any excess sodium in your drinking water (in excess of your body's needs) it requires a certain amount of water to be excreted. So water alone is far better than gatorade - or whatever you care to use.

This is why sea water (containing excessive amounts of salt) causes dehydration and will kill!

I hope this helps.


:doctor:

 

[iainwilliams]

Hello Dr. Paul - Thank you for your informative reply, it was very helpful.

I gather from your mail that, if a diver is dehydrated from failure to ingest enough water, diving and being in the sun - then this would this be a situation in which gatorade or gastrolyte can be taken, in addition to water intake to assist in the rehydration of the diver to normal levels?

If the above is correct, and the diver was suffering mild dehydration only, then what length of time would it approximately take for the body to be sufficently rehydrated to allow safe diving practices to occur (taking into account that dehydration can be a primary key factor in DCS incidence)? Cheers Iain

 

[John Reinertson]

The best advice on degree of rehydration and deciding when to go back in the water is to remember your kidneys are the most sensitive measure of your hydration status. Drink until your urine is clear and copious, with only the slightest yellow tinge if any.

This holds well for people who are mildly dehydrated. (thirsty, but not weak, cramping or woozy)

Dehydration worse than that probably needs eight hours of clear and copious urine before resuming diving.

Are there really clear and precise studies of this? NO.

It fits with physiology, with experiments on animals, and clinical experience of Navy diving officers.

Medicine is like a Polka-Dot shirt. The dots are the knowledge and the white spaces are the areas we don't know. Sometimes we can give a definite answer, if the question lands on a polka-dot.
Sometimes we have to do educated guessing from what is known at the adjacent polka-dots.
This question lies fairly close to a couple polka-dots, but it's in the white space.

Dive safe,
John

 

[The Iceni]

Originally posted by John Reinertson
The best advice on degree of rehydration and deciding when to go back in the water is to remember your kidneys are the most sensitive measure of your hydration status. Drink until your urine is clear and copious, with only the slightest yellow tinge if any.

Dive safe,
John

Couldn't have put bit better myself, John! In practice medicine can be very down-to-earth!

I guess it is better to be over-hydrated that to be even marginally dehydrated BEFORE a dive. I make sure I drink plenty on any dive trip. I was really amazed at just how quickly my urine became concentrated (dark) last weekend;- Three days diving off Cornwall (SW England).

At the start of each day I made sure I was well hydrated but after only a few hours on the boat, despite drinking the obligatory litre bottle of water during each trip, by the end of the day it was indeed quite concentrated.

Again, this is simple common sense, Iain, but to my mind if you are so dehydrated that you need electrolyte replacement you should not dive. Perhaps this is another reason multiple dives over multiple days seems to be so hazardous (particularly if mixed with alcohol, which is a diuretic).

Effectively, it seems you have to force yourself to drink!

 

[iainwilliams]

Thank you for the sound advice. I thought as much, but it is nice to have your thoughts cemented in place! Iain

 

[seabass]

To keep hydrated during a day of boat diving I need to drink about .5 litre after each dive. After playing sports all day in the hot sun and keeping hydrated, my urine can be clear, but my tissues are so dehydrated that my urine will be dark just an hour or so later. I will typically go through several cycles of drinking fluids, urinating clear, a few hours later urinate dark. It typically takes 8 hours or so to settle down.

I like to drink gatorade watered down at 50%, slightly cool but definitely not with ice cubes in it, from either a cup or a wide mouth bottle. I find it hard to drink enough pure water, normal gatorade is too sweet so I can't drink it, ice cubes make it too cold to drink enough, narrow mouth bottle means I tend not to drink enough because I have to sip it.