situation desert

I was watching the Kalahari desert episode last night and he mentioned sipping or guzzling water and I was curious as to what you guys would do in that situation me personally would sip my water just wondering to make it last as long as possible Very Happy

I would probably take it easy on the water too Very Happy

eric

Not an easy call, partly psychological and partly physiological.

My own opinion...

I've drawn out the water, as long as possible... but that's psychological... and frankly not a good idea. Not smart. Frankly, dumb, but I've made lots of dumb moves, and I'm often learning the hard way.

My opinion is that physiologically you're better off keeping yourself well-hydrated as long as the water holds out.

I don't know if you've ever experienced severe dehydration... I have... no fun and I don't wish it on anyone. So I think the smart move is to stay hydrated as much as possible in the early stages of a survival situation, drink the water... keep your kidneys and liver happy... this will keep your mind alert and focused. You don't want to become dehydrated early on. Trust me on this, for your own safety.

So, drink, drink, drink. Your body will regulate what it needs, and staying well-hydrated in early stages again could buy you some more time, as well as helping you being more "on your game" mentally, early, when you most need it.

Again, at the very least I think you're giving yourself an advantage when you're still thinking straight from drinking a good amount of water (because of hydration and electrolyte balance).

Our Med-techs, EMT's, Tfisher, etc. please chime in on this.

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"Asinus sæculæ maximus."

Last edited by Dobry on Sun Oct 28, 2007 3:45 am; edited 2 times in total

I am going to have to agree with Dobry a 100% on this one. I have been severly dehydrated with water in my canteen.
Even had heat exhaustion. Believe me you don't want to go there.

It is hard to recover without I V's of Normal Saline in your veins.

Your body loses functionalty in a dehydrated state. drink what you need early and make it a priority finding a water source.

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SURVIVAL..........it's all in your head

Im going with drink what you need " now " & look for a source. Tuff call.
Ration it ? ...... drink it ? ........ to each his or her own. Cool

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A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Don't ration your water just be smart about drinking it I have hear da number of stories of people dying of dehydration when they had some left because of a crazy ration schedule and others realizing how dehydrated they are to late and not having enough time to absorb the water. You need to stay hydrated to increase your odds of survival Dehydration takes a mental and physical toll on your body we all know every decision you make in a survival situation is important so you need to be thinking clearly to make the correct one and have the physical strength to acomplish what ever you decide to do. I say smart because you don't want to just drink all your water so you can deposit most of into the dry sand five minutes later. Drink what you need when you need it. Try to conserve the water in your body simple things like staying in the shade doing physical labor at night wearing layered clothing will keep your more hydrated so you will need less water and be able to drink less water.

I agree with stonewallcadet. Smile

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The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1

yeah I have been dehydrated not fun maybe that's why I would make my water last but if I could make a urine still or something and find a water source I think I can make it. Very Happy

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I just heard something big crackï¿½.. holy crap!-Les Stroud

better to fail at something you love then to succeed in something you hate.

Ok, don't ration it, and don't chug it either Very Happy

eric

	turd wrote:
	Ok, don't ration it, and don't chug it either eric

Definitely. Cool

If you chug it, you'll just pee it out in an hour. Surprised

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The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1

Drink in moderation, like alcohol Laughing

Yeah neither chugging nor extreme rationing are good ideas. Every survival book I have read and person I have talked too that I trusted, suggested drinking your water as you normally would, maybe a little less, depending on how much physical activity you are doing at that time.

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We only have one Earth, take care of her and she will take care of you. ~ probably someone else

There's a survival quote about this. "Ration sweat, not water." I've heard many survival experts say that you don't want to ration your water, you drink what you have, and search for more.

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Mystick said it right there. "Ration sweat, not water." If you have water now then you can stay hydrated untill you find a water source... If you moniter your sweating (working at night, staying in the shade in the day, keeping from exposure to sun/sunburns, breathing through the nose instead of the mouth, etc...) and basicly limiting your expelling of water you could really aid yourself in the early days... which could ultimatly lead to survival.

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Never explain. Your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway.

Daffy wrote:

Mystick said it right there. "Ration sweat, not water." If you have water now then you can stay hydrated untill you find a water source... If you moniter your sweating (working at night, staying in the shade in the day, keeping from exposure to sun/sunburns, breathing through the nose instead of the mouth, etc...) and basicly limiting your expelling of water you could really aid yourself in the early days... which could ultimatly lead to survival.

also when you don't stay hydrated you start making bad decisions, and you start acting loopy, like you're drunk. I got dehydrated one time and I puked too. Not something you want to do. Confused

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Dehydration combined with severe heat makes some people puke. Shocked

Thankfully it hasn't happened to me. I stay hydrated and cool when I'm outside. Cool

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The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. - Psalms 53:1

Once, i got to that stage of dehydration while cycling in the summer of 1992 or 93.
It was a hot summer day and i had been cycling every day for about 2 weeks.
Me & my buddy were riding about 50 miles a day. And we tackled a big hill about 1/2 a mile long in the mid day heat Confused

. We already had 20 miles behind use, and went for this hill. About 35 degress maybe more.
I made it to the top, Soaked, i got of the bike, my legs didn't work, my skin got cold and clammy, and i started to purge Confused

All iseen was spots everywhere i looked. It took me 30 minutes to cool down under a tree, my buddy said i looked like i was going to explode, lol. He went to the store and bought me 3 large power drinks & a litre of water.
I didn't get away from that tree for 1.5 hrs, thats how long it took for me to feel " normal ". Pretty scary.
Ever since that day, i carry way more water/drinks than i need, just because. Cool

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Drummer Dave wrote:

Once, i got to that stage of dehydration while cycling in the summer of 1992 or 93.
It was a hot summer day and i had been cycling every day for about 2 weeks.
Me & my buddy were riding about 50 miles a day. And we tackled a big hill about 1/2 a mile long in the mid day heat Confused

. We already had 20 miles behind use, and went for this hill. About 35 degress maybe more.
I made it to the top, Soaked, i got of the bike, my legs didn't work, my skin got cold and clammy, and i started to purge Confused

All iseen was spots everywhere i looked. It took me 30 minutes to cool down under a tree, my buddy said i looked like i was going to explode, lol. He went to the store and bought me 3 large power drinks & a litre of water.
I didn't get away from that tree for 1.5 hrs, thats how long it took for me to feel " normal ". Pretty scary.
Ever since that day, i carry way more water/drinks than i need, just because. Cool

The skin going cold and clammy sounds like heat exhaustion doesn't it?

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^ Yup ... it was a pretty freaky time. Ive never let myself get to that stage again.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

	Drummer Dave wrote:
	^ Yup ... it was a pretty freaky time. Ive never let myself get to that stage again.

me neither. Drink even when you don't want to if you know its been a while. Cool

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oh my that must have been scary Very Happy

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I just heard something big crackï¿½.. holy crap!-Les Stroud

better to fail at something you love then to succeed in something you hate.