Here in Calgary we have one of the most exciting times of the year. It is the time of the Calgary Stampede and there are parties, free pancake breakfasts and of course a world famous rodeo that lasts right through next week.
The company that I work for had a stampede breakfast and mini rodeo on Saturday at the Calgary Stampede and I went along with my wife and two kids. We met some people there and although we brought our own lunch we did have the sausage, pancakes and hash browns for breakfast. The lunch was packed by my wife and was healthy fruit and sandwiches which were great for all of us and helped us avoid the crazy prices for food on the fairgrounds.
But this story is not about the food or the food on the grounds.
I always get excited about hanging out and playing with the kids. I am a pretty active guy when it comes to looking after the kids running behind and trying to keep up with them and that was the case on Saturday, but I did not bring any water to drink and really did not think about drinking anything. Just like anyone on a really hot day I was fine until it was a bit too late. Just before we left in mid afternoon I started feeling a little light headed and went a little downhill from there. We got in the car and went to the first 7-11 we could find to get a drink for me. After sucking back some liquids I was fine but I would bet that there were others that day that did not fare as well as me.
It is really important to drink a lot of liquids when you are active and at these times most people realize it and do get in the liquids and electrolytes that they need to keep them in peak condition. But, when you are just running around and away from home on a hot day quite often you don’t really think about the water just as I did on Saturday. If you were to go to the first aid tent at any event during the summer you should see that the majority of people are suffering from heat exhaustion or dehydration not from being active but just from drying up in the heat.
The easiest way to avoid these problems is to make sure that you drink a lot of liquids throughout the day. Mix it up drink fruit juice for the sugar, water for the pure hydration and try to keep yourself in the shade whenever possible. This time in July and August is prime time for these problems. Especially when it is really hot take care of your kids as they are not nearly as good at regulating their temperature and can get heat stroke which is an even worse problem and can require hospitalization.
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