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Health and Safety => Health and Safety => Topic started by: coxy on June 03, 2016, 06:44:19 AM

Title: is it
Post by: coxy on June 03, 2016, 06:44:19 AM
normal to get leg and arm cramps when working when its supper hot  never had this before  I drink tons of water
Title: Re: is it
Post by: sandsawmill14 on June 03, 2016, 07:13:50 AM
you may need to eat some bananas or drink gatorade/powerade its most likely your potassium is low ??? i went through that week before last and was dehydrated as well they gave me 2 potassium pills per day and i feel like a different man :) water is the best to drink but if you dont eat good balanced meals several vitamins and minerals can get depleted and it seems the older i get the more it affects me :-\  hope you get to feeling better :)
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Ianab on June 03, 2016, 07:21:47 AM
Yup, if you are actually working in the heat you need more than just water.

Those "sports" drinks are sort of a have, unless you are actually working and need the electrolytes. Then alternating water and Gatorade through the day can help.

There are other options of course, but if you are working hard enough to break into a sweat, then extra electrolytes will probably help.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Chuck White on June 03, 2016, 11:24:08 PM
Agreed, don't just drink, EAT!   digin_2
Title: Re: is it
Post by: ellmoe on June 04, 2016, 07:18:08 AM
  I'm in Central Florida, I have had a little experience with heat and cramps! I eaten bananas, drank water and low calorie "sports" drinks (this is where Gatorade was created, after all ) and they helped. I still had bad cramps, though. I started taking magnesium this year and they have all but gone away. As" The Monkees " said, I'm a Believer.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: sandsawmill14 on June 04, 2016, 08:41:58 AM
doc must be fishing ;D i thought he might have weighed in on this and gave us all some useful info :)
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Ron Scott on June 04, 2016, 04:46:17 PM
Similar to what ellmoe said; I also find magnesium to be helpful.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Ron Wenrich on June 04, 2016, 04:54:17 PM
If you take magnesium, you want magnesium malate.  Usually its magnesium citrate, which doesn't absorb too well.  Other things that can effect it is calcium.  If its too low, you can cramp up, or if its too high you can cramp.  I've been dealing with cramps for a long time.  Finally getting it under control with magnesium, water, and eating a bit less cheese. 
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Dave Shepard on June 04, 2016, 06:07:07 PM
It was suggested to me that I should get Gatorade concentrate, and mix it pretty stiff. I firmly believe that the more times you get dehydrated, the more susceptible you are to getting dehydrated again. I have a really low tolerance for working in hot weather.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: red on June 04, 2016, 06:40:53 PM
Member Okrafarmer posted July 2 2014 Muscle Cramps lots of good ideas on that post
Title: Re: is it
Post by: DDW_OR on June 04, 2016, 06:51:13 PM
Okrafarmer - Muscle cramps

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,76225.0/all.html

Title: Re: is it
Post by: elk42 on June 04, 2016, 06:55:42 PM
Get a blood test and see what your system needs and get prescription, then drink water and sports drinks. With 90° and 95° with 70%  humidity and also working in paper mills in places 110°15 min. work smiley_sick cool for 30 min I been there. smiley_devil_trident   
Title: Re: is it
Post by: coxy on June 05, 2016, 11:28:49 AM
Quote from: sandsawmill14 on June 03, 2016, 07:13:50 AM
you may need to eat some bananas or drink gatorade/powerade its most likely your potassium is low ??? i went through that week before last and was dehydrated as well they gave me 2 potassium pills per day and i feel like a different man :) water is the best to drink but if you dont eat good balanced meals several vitamins and minerals can get depleted and it seems the older i get the more it affects me :-\  hope you get to feeling better :)
sorry for not posting was at hunting camp for our work/drunk party :D I cant/ wont drink Gatorade I was drinking 4 different kinds of it and broke out in vary vary bad hives and don't want to go through that again  after I had back surgery I had back/leg cramps  and was told to drink selzerwater with quine (don't know how it spelt) that worked like a charm but they don't put it in there anymore and really don't want to take any more pills if I can help it  ill try some of what every one posted about
Title: Re: is it
Post by: ellmoe on June 05, 2016, 01:07:20 PM
Quote from: Ron Wenrich on June 04, 2016, 04:54:17 PM
If you take magnesium, you want magnesium malate.  Usually its magnesium citrate, which doesn't absorb too well.  Other things that can effect it is calcium.  If its too low, you can cramp up, or if its too high you can cramp.  I've been dealing with cramps for a long time.  Finally getting it under control with magnesium, water, and eating a bit less cheese.

  I take Mag. Bisglycinate Chelate, also supposed to be easily absorbed. My wife buys it online from www.VivaLabs.com.
Good luck.
Mark
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Carson-saws on June 05, 2016, 03:27:55 PM
electrolytes indeed,  yet "one mans fuel is another mans poison".just be careful in accordance to your metabolism.  Are you diabetic , hypo or hyperglycemic.  Very much like your mill your bod need fuel and the proper kind...like octane grades and such.  I am aware that most of the mills run generally the same HP but do any of you choose to run different octanes.  Inab hit it right and it is the "best way" to start out and see the results.  Of course unless ya pass out or something.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: FirewoodFactory on June 05, 2016, 10:40:14 PM
If cramping is a problem then definitely stay away from boozie..even after work. 

Beer was our energy drink of choice years ago and while it is good for that, there is more bad about it than there is good... besides intoxication, it WILL bring on cramps if you're prone to them.

My goodness, what used to go on....if you worked for my father then you were given shandys....I worked with some Swedes who provided their men with beer.  They'd take a few tall cans and climb the scaffolding and work away...on their sites, even when there wasn't a Cloud to be seen, water would fall from the sky. :P

Cozy, seltzer with quinine is called tonic water where I live....I love the stuff.

For the record:. I was reminiscing and don't condone drinking any amount while working...except for mowing the lawn at home... which I just did...during which I did.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: coxy on June 06, 2016, 06:23:11 AM
Quote from: FirewoodFactory on June 05, 2016, 10:40:14 PM
If cramping is a problem then definitely stay away from boozie..even after work. 

Beer was our energy drink of choice years ago and while it is good for that, there is more bad about it than there is good... besides intoxication, it WILL bring on cramps if you're prone to them.

My goodness, what used to go on....if you worked for my father then you were given shandys....I worked with some Swedes who provided their men with beer.  They'd take a few tall cans and climb the scaffolding and work away...on their sites, even when there wasn't a Cloud to be seen, water would fall from the sky. :P

Cozy, seltzer with quinine is called tonic water where I live....I love the stuff.

For the record:. I was reminiscing and don't condone drinking any amount while working...except for mowing the lawn at home... which I just did...during which I did.
welcome to the FF   seltzer water and tonic water is different here but the seltzer with quinine  did do the trick  1 16oz bottle a month cant seem to get the tonic water down  :) :)
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Logger RK on June 06, 2016, 07:12:10 AM
I have discovered to much Old Milwaukee will give you skull cramps also 8)
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Straightgrain on June 06, 2016, 03:23:32 PM
I may miss or double-tap something, but heat related injuries is something I dealt with for two decades...easy to save and loose a life....my apologies in advance.

Cramps, nausea, and dizziness are a leading indicators of heat exhaustion.

A proper diet definately goes a long way towards having all the nutrients in the body  (and ready) for use; "suffice to say" ....eat a healthy diet (less grease and fats) and lay off the sodas, booze, caffeine, & tobacco products before and during physical activities....+ on the salts and other minerals like potassium.

Stop to stretch, snack, and rest for 10 minutes every hour. Drink water regularly, not in bulk (get and use a camel back). 1 quart per half hour was the most extreme situation I dealt-with in the SE states. Long sleeve shirts help to prevent sweat evaporation.

When I was a Platoon Sergeant, I would pass out centrum vitamins (among other things like threats of the indignifying rectal IVs....) on the long marches (aka humps) to help keep my "Joes" on their feet...most young men seemed to be able to store more nutrient reserves in their bodies than would some men in their 40s ....+.

Foam or bubbles in clear urine can be an indicator of slight dehydration, yellow urine is definately a sign of dehydration. Drastic pulse fluctuations when going from sitting to standing.... can = dehydration.

A person who suddenly quits sweating can be going into heat stroke.

If need be, learn how to administer an IV and have ringers lactate and an IV kit nearby. Done correctly, an IV can save a life. In the most severe cases (collapsed veins) IVs can go "up" as an enema; water absorbs much faster through the intestinal walls.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Czech_Made on June 07, 2016, 07:28:40 AM
I like coconut water as source of potasium.

Weak beer was/is served at steel plants in my old country.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: doctorb on June 08, 2016, 08:47:55 AM
As can be seen by the remedies and preventive solutions offered on this thread and the previous one on the same subject, there is no absolute answer here.  Certainly, the issue of good hydration and available electrolytes is part of it.  But there is no one equation to help each of us every day from cramps, and there's no perfect solution once they occur.  So drink a lot of fluids,  replace those electrolytes, and pay attention to your body when you're working hard in hot weather.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Carson-saws on June 08, 2016, 05:42:02 PM
doctorb..Well said Sir...pretty much sums it right up.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Magicman on June 09, 2016, 07:56:09 PM
Welcome to the Forestry Forum, FirewoodFactory.  Now tell us about your firewood factory.   ;D
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Dave Shepard on June 09, 2016, 10:09:20 PM
The only sure fire way to avoid dehydration and cramps is to stay inside by the AC and drink iced tea. :)
Title: Re: is it
Post by: FirewoodFactory on June 09, 2016, 10:45:20 PM
Hijacked content: Magicman, I have no firewood factory.  It's a joke where I work in a resaw mill and what can't be recovered is sold as firewood.    Sometimes I get a stack that makes me feel that way.

Relevant content:. As the season progresses one should adapt and not lose so much salt when they sweat.  Sure you lose it, but not like in the first weeks.  Persevere the perspiration pains!
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Magicman on June 10, 2016, 09:32:51 AM
I take a few glugs of Gatorade and chase it with water.  Overloading with the pure stuff will/can make you  steve_smiley
Title: Re: is it
Post by: OneWithWood on June 10, 2016, 11:13:52 AM
Every so often I will wake to a cramping leg.  Major hurt!
An old carpenter friend who did a lot of roofing work said when he would get leg cramps he would drink some pickle juice, preferably dill pickle juice.  I thought he was kidding until I tried it one night.  After hobbling to the refer I drank some juice from a jar of dill relish.  The cramp went away immediately.  I keep a jar of just the dill pickle juice in the refer now for just such moments.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Onthesauk on June 10, 2016, 08:05:18 PM
A few years ago I ended up in ER in the middle of the night with chest pain that wouldn't ease up.  Blood test indicated I was way low on potassium, caused cramps in my chest.  Now take one, 10mg morning and evening and cleared up.  And seems to be a very short term effect and cure.  I recently took them late afternoon rather then late evening and ended up with leg cramps during the night.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: coxy on June 28, 2016, 09:53:43 PM
thank for all the replays I have been drinking 2 qts of Gatorade a day(against better judgment  :) ) and 2 bananas for lunch and 2gal of water a day and things seem to be going ok so far have to watch drinking to much Gatorade don't want the hives again  was talking to a doc friend and he said I may have had a reaction to the blue #1 that's in Gatorade he said lot of people get the hives from it  ??? :-\
Title: Re: is it
Post by: red on July 05, 2016, 01:57:33 PM
My leg cramps disappeared a few weeks ago I have been doing a shot of pickle juice when I leave in the morning .  I have always hydrared properly and eat bananas. Some athletes also drink pickle juice before working out . Thanks for the info guys stay safe in this weather.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: red on July 02, 2017, 06:32:52 AM
My leg cramps came back a few days ago . I have not done anything yet to prevent the leg cramps. Today I will try pickle juice again.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Ed_K on July 02, 2017, 09:56:17 AM
 I eat bananas and dilute the gatorade 1/2 and 1/2 with water.I also have large juice bottles of water on each piece of equipment.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Ox on July 02, 2017, 04:33:01 PM
What exactly is in the pickle juice that helps us?  I know the salt is probably helpful, but is the vinegar doing something too?

I remember haying and picking rock on brutal hot summer days in my teens.  We would keep a bottle of salt pills in the milkhouse and would take 3 of them every load we brought in when we were sucking down the water from the tap in there.
It seemed to keep us energized somehow and was weird but mass quantities of salt and water kept us going the whole day working like crazy people.  Never would have believed it if I hadn't lived it.

Between that and small, light "meals" (a quick sandwich and handful of some nibbles) several times through the day we could outwork anybody around.  It was really something...
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Chuck White on July 02, 2017, 05:57:13 PM
Vinegar is good for the body.

Not a lot, some recommend 1 TableSpoon each morning.

Probably got antioxidants in it, and who knows what else!

Maybe Google "Vinegar Diet"!
Title: Re: is it
Post by: WV Sawmiller on July 02, 2017, 07:08:14 PM
Red,

   I think I'd rather have the cramps than have to drink pickle juice! :(

   When we were vacationing in the jungle or desert we would drink plenty of Gatorade but as mentioned earlier but be sure it is right for you. In some cases I'd get a craving for something like bananas or cantaloupe or extra salt on my food or such and think it was my body telling me what it needed at that time.

   I know when I was in USMC working with recruits at Parris Island they (Our medical team) always told us anyone who was a heat casualty was much more subject to being affected again. At one point we'd even put them in a red T-shirt for PT so the supervisors paid extra attention to them. Of course now we would probably be Shanghai-ed (Also probably not politically correct term any more) for singling them out even though I don't think we ever lost a redshirt to the heat.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: YellowHammer on July 02, 2017, 07:46:44 PM
The best remedy I have for cramps is quinine.  Years ago it was specifically prescribed for cramp relief, but now you can't get the pills.  However, it is readily available in Tonic water, available at any grocery store of liquor store.  It will generally stop the cramp in less time that it takes to swig and put the bottle down after drinking it.   :D Maybe just a little more, maybe 30 seconds to a minute.  It's that fast. 

I always have a 6 pack under the counter for leg cramps that pops up in the middle of the night.   
Title: Re: is it
Post by: red on June 04, 2020, 01:48:53 PM
More talk of pickle juice and leg cramps 
Title: Re: is it
Post by: dirtmotor on June 04, 2020, 02:17:53 PM
I also have really bad leg cramps at night mostly , I have tried most everything you guys have mentioned , what seems to do the most good for me is taking a magnesium supplement every day . 
Title: Re: is it
Post by: red on August 12, 2021, 08:50:47 PM
I just remembered getting leg cramp at night a few years ago . . the only thing that helped was Pickle Juice ? 
Title: Re: is it
Post by: Old Greenhorn on August 12, 2021, 09:03:21 PM
Sorry I missed this. I had this problem bigtime a tear or so ago. @doc henderson (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=profile;u=41041) recommended Tums for the calcium and taking 3 or 4 before bed. Worked like a bloody charm! I keep a bottle by the bed and whenever I have issues, I take a few and do it for a few nights thereafter. No more severe cramps. If I let it go for a while and one wakes me up, I walk it off and then pop a couple of tums and I get through the night. Works for hand cramps too. Cheap and effective.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: thecfarm on August 12, 2021, 09:18:07 PM
I have got into the habit of drinking a big glass of water each night while on the FF.  ;) 
That really seems to do it for me. Yes, I drink a lot of water through the day. And I mean a lot. The gallon cooler jug is on the tractor and when I empty it, I head for the house for more.
Title: Re: is it
Post by: doc henderson on August 12, 2021, 09:39:44 PM
prob. the salt in the pickle juice.  we used to take salt tabs at camp in the summer.  if you can swallow them.  if it sticks in the back of the throat, you may have vomiting to add to your list of ailments.  you may or may not want to ask ask me how I know!  my wife the runner uses tums at night for Charlie horse stuff, and it works in less than a minute as well.