One of our best friends, Charlie Kraft, now knows what it is to have heat stroke, and he declares with a vengeance that he does not like it!
Last week, Charlie, an avid and accomplished golfer, tried to qualify for the Villages Cup Teams by playing two rounds of golf in the very hot sun at Glenview Country Club.
The first day he teed off at approximately 1 p.m., and the temperature was 95+ and extremely humid. He said it felt like 110 in the shade. After the first round, his delightful wife Judy and he went to dinner with his left hand in extreme pain and cramping. He thought it was the start of arthritis.
The second day of the tournament his tee time was about noon with the same extreme heat and humidity as the day before. During the second round, Charlie again drank large quantities of water and perspired profusely. He thought he was doing right by trying to stay hydrated with plenty of water. On the final five holes both his hands started to cramp with his fingers curling so much that it was difficult to hold a golf club. He later found out that this is one of the first signs of heat stroke because all of the electrolytes had been washed out of his body through perspiration. He even started to get very dizzy on the last hole and had to sit down on the eighteenth green.
After his golf on the second day, his only thought was to get to his home in Pinellas and into his air-conditioned house. He dreamed of have a cool glass of something to drink and then taking a dip in his pool. He knew that he was not feeling quite right so he decided to drive his golf cart very slowly on his way home. He stopped at Laurel Manor for a few minutes to rest because he saw a shady area under a tree. He attempted to push on through the short cut behind the businesses of Laurel Manor. During the next five minutes or so something happened. Charlie must have blacked out because the next thing he remembers was that there was a Good Samaritan named Harold Cole who was tapping on his shoulder and asking him if he was alright. Charlie had driven down the short cut and ended up driving his cart over the curbing and into a yard on Kingston Way. Charlie’s head was on his steering wheel and he was passed out. And by the way, no alcohol had been consumed. Harold and another man helped Charlie, a tall fellow at about 6 feet 5 inches or so, into Harold’s house, and he proceeded to give him some ice water, cold wash cloths, and a cool comfortable chair to sit in. After much discussion, Charlie agreed to give Harold his wife’s phone number. Initially he didn’t want Howard to call her because Charlie knew she would get upset. Harold called his wife, and they both agreed the best plan of action was to call 911. EMS arrived almost immediately after the call, and the four men started to hook Charlie up to all types of equipment in an attempt to diagnosis his health status. They determined that Charlie most likely had a heat stroke, and that he should go to the Emergency Department at The Villages Regional Hospital.
Charlie arrived at the Villages hospital at about 5 p.m. on that Wednesday and spent the next two days there taking about 10-12 liters of saline intravenously. During his ride in the ambulance, he thought he was going to throw up but only had dry heaves. The EMS drivers said that this is another sign of heat stroke. Also, once he arrived at the Emergency Department, his legs had extreme cramps, many times more painful than a charley-horse.
The doctors said the most critical issue is the kidneys. Charlie’s had stopped working since there was no fluid in them to expel the solids in his body. Slowly but surely his kidneys started to function again after 3 or 4 liters of saline had been put back into his body, he was very lucky. Had his kidneys not regained normal status, it could have become a chronic kidney condition with potentially going on dialysis.  Â
After two days in the hospital Charlie learned several lessons for the future.
- Don’t play golf in EXTREME hot weather and high humidity, no matter what the occasion.
- If you do play, alternate drinking plenty of Gatorade/Powerade to replace the electrolytes in your body. Two waters to one Gatorade/Powerade.
- Once you get older, you are not the SUPERMAN you thought you were 20-30 years ago.
What is Dehydration?
Dehydration is a condition that can occur when the loss of body fluids, mostly water, exceeds the amount that is taken in. With dehydration, more water is moving out of individual cells and then out of the body than the amount of water that is taken in through drinking. Medically, dehydration usually means a person has lost enough fluid so that the body begins to lose its ability to function normally and then begins to produce symptoms related to the fluid loss. Although infants and children are at highest risk for dehydration, many adults and especially the elderly have significant risk factors.
Along with the water, small amounts of salts or electrolytes are also lost. Our bodies are constantly readjusting the balance between water (and salts or electrolytes) losses with fluid intake. When we lose too much water, our bodies may become out of balance or dehydrated. Most doctors divide dehydration into three stages: 1) mild, 2) moderate and 3) severe. Mild and often even moderate dehydration can be reversed or put back in balance by oral intake of fluids that contain electrolytes (or salts) that are lost during activity. If unrecognized and untreated, some instances of moderate and severe dehydration can lead to death.
In addition to drinking water, the body also needs replacement of electrolytes (for example, potassium and sodium) lost with the above mentioned conditions, so drinking water without electrolyte replacement may not complete the balance of water and electrolytes the body has lost. Some symptoms may remain if this balance is not restored.
Symptoms of dehydration on the golf course include:
- Increased muscle stiffness, decreased golf flexibility
- Being thirsty
- Dry Mouth
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Poor concentration
- Feeling sluggish
Beginning at the age of 20, our bodies begin to reduce the ability to hold as much water in reserve. This lose can be as high as 15 percent. With less water in reserve, we are much more likely to be dehydrated if we are not actively drinking water. In addition, as we get older our bodies natural alert system of dehydration, thirst, becomes less sensitive. Meaning that we are more likely to be dehydrated without even feeling thirsty! As a result, if you are waiting to drink water until you feel thirsty, you are probably already moderately dehydrated. Plus, the kidneys become less able to retain water when we are dehydrated, causing greater dehydration.
The easy answer is to drink more water. Sports drinks with electrolytes are also good but make sure the sugar content is low because sugar needs water to process.
There has also been growing research that eating fruits with high water content is a better way to hydrate.
To calculate how much water you need in a day which includes a round of golf, divide your body weight in half. This is approximately the number of ounces of water you need:Â Weight (150lbs) / 2 = 75 ounces of water needed.
By the way, beer, coffee, tea and soft drinks can contribute to dehydration. You need to drink more water if you choose to drink any of these while playing golf. Enjoy your golf game, make sure you take lots of water and a few sports drinks, and take time to cool off before driving off from your game.
For questions or comments, call Jane Bloom, The Other Daughter, at 352 391 0899 or email janeinthevillages@gmail.com  or visit her website at www.theotherdaughter.org
