Originally Posted by Calsun

You do not need electrolyte replacement which is something put out by the Gatorade marketing department. The company pays the NFL teams to use their product and advertise it on the sidelines.

If your core temperature is over 103 degrees it needs to get in a cooler environment to recover. What is essential is staying hydrated to keep your blood as thin as possible and minimize the stress on your heart. Heat stroke victims have core temperatures of more than 105 degrees and then go into cardiac arrest as their hearts cannot cope.

In Phoenix the temperature of the asphalt gets up to 170 degrees. That heat is reflected back up to anyone one it whether they are walking or bicycling. Qutite a few people getting admitted to the ER with third degree burns on their feet when they have been stupid enough to go outside barefoot.

Buy a cheap thermometer and use it to check your body temperature. Nothing high tech or expensive is needed to determine your current state. And wear a long sleeved shirt and a hat and try to stay out of the sun and off the pavement.

Glad to hear you are letting your cats outside in the heat. Two many free roaming cats as it is and a few less is good for the local wildlife.

Originally Posted by teacherman62

I'm going to respectfully disagree with your statement. The salt content of our sweat can, according to some training articles, be up to 2000 mg per liter. That's nearly a teaspoon of salt. I'm willing to wager most of those former marathoners croaked due to hyponatremia, which is an actual thing, especially now that so many authorities recommend low salt intake. People stop sweating, and the myriad electrolyte-regulated processes, including but not limited to heart function, are disrupted.

I was particularly intrigued by one article that claimed one can measure one's own sodium loss via sweat, and that there is a great individual variation in this. The link can be found on a site called TrainingPeaks, if anyone is interested. I'm not a poster of links, but today's google is remarkably effective at finding items.

I've taken to leaving a bowl of water by the door for my 17 year old cat, who seems to find the AC too cold for his liking. 😉

Originally Posted by Calsun

The marathoners died of heart failure and this is the result of dehydration that results in thicker blood and the heart having to work much harder to maintain circulation throughout the body. I don't understand why this simple concept is so difficult to comprehend. People are dying by the thousands at this time and they are no dying because they are sweating and losing electrolytes but because they are becoming dehydrated and so their blood is thicker and their core temperature that is regulated by the flow of blood increases. People are dying inside their homes from heat stroke and heart failure. Do you really think that if only they had Gatorade they might have survived?

From a prevention standpoint consuming more water and monitoring ones body temperature is important. If the body temperature is over 100 degrees it indicates that the body is unable to cook itself and steps need to be taken to lower the body temperature while still conscious.