Edema
I've never had issues with this before but...
I had issues at IMTX with edema and figured it was because I had been popping Salt Sticks like Skittles. The swelling more or less subsided once I stopped taking the Salt Sticks about halfway through the run at IMTX.
Fast forward to today. I went for a one 1 hour run a little while ago and my hands swelled up again. I did take 1 Salt Stick before the run but that was it. Lunch and breakfast weren't sodium heavy or anything. Usual meals. It was absurdly hot out with the current temp of 103 degrees with heat index at 110 degrees.
The common denominator is the heat but I haven't had issues before this and I've been running in the Houston heat for over 7 years now.
Should I be concerned about something? Circulatory issues??? I feel fine otherwise.
Comments
bob:
when it is very hot AND you are exerting yourself, your kidneys recieve less blood volume than normal. due to dehydration or shunting of blood to extremeties or both. the kidneys respond to this by retaining salt. if you add salt tabs, then your adding excess salt and blood pressure increases and excess fluids goes out into the tissues. after the IMTX you probably didn't pee for like 3 days, right?
the take home lesson is to replace what you lose. an electrolyte drink with water/sugar/and salt is perfect and gets absorbed by your body more efficiently. stay hydrated with water. after many hours of exertion, then you can try salt tabs, but keep a limit on htem. experiment and find the minimum you can get away with. more important is hydration, otherwise your kidneys start shutting down. by the way, if you took NSAIDS during the race, then you are crippling your kidneys even more!!! very dangerous to do that in the heat.
finally, your normal diet should be enough for a one hour run in the heat. water/maybe gatorade or infinit at the end. no need for aslt tabs on a one hour run.
hope this helps.
gh
Thanks, Gilberto. I'm going for another run right now and I will completely lay off the Salt Sticks and see how it goes. It's not quite as hot today -- it's a frigid 95 degrees.
No NSAIDS for me.