Sierra Lifeflight Offers Summer Safety Tips: Hydration is a Must
(BISHOP, Calif.) — Sierra Lifeflight, a REACH Air Medical Services (REACH) brand, reminds citizens of Bishop and the surrounding area to stay hydrated when dealing with hot weather. This summer you might be planning to get outside and partake in a variety of fun activities. But whether you’re planning to hike, play ball or just relax in the water, it’s important that you stay hydrated.
Michael Patterson, regional director of operations for REACH, offers these summer safety tips for staying hydrated:
- Have fluid source readily available – Plan ahead and make sure you drink enough water throughout the day and night to replenish fluids lost during activities.
- Water will do the trick – For most people water will be sufficient enough to keep you properly hydrated. If you are working really hard, you might need to replace calories that are lost due to perspiration. A soda or sports drink can help with fluid and calorie replacement.
- Be careful when drinking alcohol – If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. A good strategy is to alternate alcoholic beverages with water. With alcohol you can only count on about 75 percent of the beverage ending up in the body as fluid.
- Listen to your body – When the temperatures and activity levels increase it’s even more important to listen to your body and take breaks if you start to feel light-headed, feel overheated or if you develop a headache. These are warning signs that something is not right. Don’t ignore them!
- Don’t take in too much fluid – It might sound a little strange but be careful of drinking too much fluid. This can lead to the opposite of dehydration – overhydration, or hyponatremia. The rule of thumb is to not drink if you are not thirsty, if you feel water sloshing around in your stomach or you don’t feel well and have been taking in fluids.
How to avoid dehydration
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, to avoid dehydration, active people should drink at least 16- 20 ounces of fluid one to two hours before an outdoor activity. After that, you should consume 6 to 12 ounces of fluid every 10 to 15 minutes you are outside. When you are finished with the activity, you should drink more.
Stay safe, have fun and have a great summer!
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About REACH Air Medical Services
REACH Air Medical Services, headquartered in Sacramento, CA, provides critical care air and ground emergency medical services to communities throughout California, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Colorado and Hawaii. REACH employs hundreds of highly trained nurses, paramedics, pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians to provide service to patients using their fleet of medically equipped helicopters, airplanes and ground ambulances. REACH is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS), which is the gold standard for patient care and safety in the medical transport industry. For more information, visit www.REACHAir.com.
REACH is part of Global Medical Response. With nearly 36,000 team members, Global Medical Response delivers compassionate, quality medical care, primarily in the areas of emergency medical and patient relocation services in the United States and around the world. GMR was formed by combining the industry leaders in air, ground, mobile healthcare services, and community, industrial/specialty and wildland fire services. For additional information, visit us on LinkedIn or at www.GlobalMedicalResponse.
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