Hypoxia due to dehydration/heat

[billvon 2,991]

I got really hypoxic on a jump on Monday; it's a good lesson on how _not_ to prepare for a lot of jumping in high temperatures.

Our team had been doing a lot of jumping all weekend. We'd made 12 on Saturday, 10 on Sunday and had made 4 on Monday by about 10am. Temperatures were around 105-108F. We were doing a lot of creeping since we were on the "hard" blocks (the slot switchers) and needed the extra time to get the dives prepped.

Dives 5-6-7 were going to be back to back to back, meaning we were manifested on three consecutive loads on one aircraft. We'd land, run across the runway before the plane turned final, then drop our gear, pick up a second rig and get on the plane. We generally had time for one exit jamup before getting back on the plane.

Dive 5 was (I believe) the 3 block with a random thrown in. We went to 10,500 (both to get practice with "real" working time and to get down before the plane landed) and launched the dive. I noticed some mild hypoxia about ten seconds into that dive - some fuzziness and loss of color. It slowed me down a bit but cleared after another five seconds, so we continued the dive and broke off normally.

We ran across the runway to get on the next load. I briefly looked for my bottle of water but couldn't find it. It was about noon by this point, and I was sweating like a pig since I had a black nylon jumpsuit on that I didn't have time to take off between loads. We got on the next plane and took off. We were supposed to go to 10,500 again, but due to clouds we ended up going to ~12,000 and flying around a bit looking for a hole.

Finally we exited. The first block went pretty well. As the block completed I started noticing hypoxia hitting me fast. I felt the usual fuzziness, then lost color, then started getting tunnel vision. The next point was an E (a meeker) where I am facing sideways to the formation. I turned, reached for Pat's grip, and missed it; I had trouble seeing it because of my narrowing vision. I drove forward, looking for it, for about five seconds. I started to get worried, because at that point I didn't really know where I was; nothing was making sense. I turned around and saw that I was about 40 feet from the formation and below it. I shook my head and the tunnel vision started to clear.

The four other people (Pat, Molly, Amy and our cameraman Terry) were looking at me like I was crazy. Pat and Amy came rocketing over and docked on me. Pat asked if I was OK: I told him I was so-so. (In sign language of course.) I thought about just pulling, but we were still at 7000 feet and another team (and our cameraman) was above us. I figured the safest thing to do was build the meeker again and just wait until breakoff altitude; it seemed unlikely that the problem would get worse as we got lower, and I felt OK. Color had come back.

Pat got worried, though, because he said I "didn't look right." He waved off the cameraman and pulled me at about 5000 feet. Under canopy I felt OK; I was just wierded out by what had happened. We landed and decided to not make the next back to back.

I spent half an hour in the Bomb Shelter (where it was a relatively cool 85F; the A/C doesn't work very well) and then debriefed our dives. On the video I reach for Pat's grip, just graze it, then reach again as I turn about 45 degrees out and start drifting away. The camera was unprepared for this (of course) and so missed much of what happened next, although he did get Pat waving him off like crazy and deploying me.

We cancelled the rest of the training day and I went home, where I could sleep in a real bed and drink a lot of water. When Amy and I went over what had happened, we thought there were four reasons for it:

1) (the main one) Dehydration. I drank about half a liter of water from the start of the day to noon, and I just wasn't replacing what I was sweating out.

2) Lack of sleep. We were sleeping in our van, and a combination of the lumpy futon, the nightly parties outside, the temperatures and the mosquitos resulted in not much sleep at night.

3) Altitude. We spent a little more time than normal at altitude circling looking for a hole. Normally it wouldn't have been an issue, but everything started adding up after the first four jumps.

4) Blood deficit. I had given blood about two weeks prior, and although your body makes up the volume loss very quickly, it can take weeks to get red blood cell counts back to nominal.

The next day we came back to Perris and made 8 more jumps. I made it a point to drink at least a liter of water during each 20, and at least some water in between back to backs. No problems.

By that night, the rumor mill was in full swing, reporting that I had passed out and almost died but for Pat's intervention, and that I had come to under canopy just in time to land. Although it wasn't quite as dramatic as all that, I was glad that I had people as heads-up as Amy and Pat on my team. And now I know to make hydration/sleep a higher priority even during really busy team training weekends.

[ChrisL 2]

are you sure its not a tumor?

__

My mighty steed

[dharma1976 0]

glad you are allright, I know the feeling...thats how I wound up spraining my leg (the entire thing) when I was out in perris

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[Waldschrat 0]

Very interesting....

How old are you, Bill?

[billvon 2,991]

>How old are you, Bill?

41

[bmcd308 0]

Reminds me of two a day football practice back in high school...

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www.jumpelvis.com

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

1) (the main one) Dehydration...
2) Lack of sleep...
3) Altitude. We spent a little more time than normal at altitude...
4) Blood deficit. I had given blood about two weeks prior...

I think this is another example of how a series of small things add up to something larger.

Thanks, bill.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[bob.dino 1]

The dehydration issue rings a bell with me. My performance levels are very sensitive to low fluid levels - I find that if I don't keep hydrated my focus goes down the toilet before I start feeling thirsty and/or headachy.

On hot days I drink 6-9l of water a jumping day. I try to drink a litre of water between loads, and ensure I keep electrolytes up by consuming one or two sports drinks through the day. Handy hint: buy the powder and premix a 2l bottle on Friday night.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

I discovered that skydiving and dehydration don't mix on a 90 degree summer day with a DZ elevation arround 6000 feet MSL (meaning jump runs arround 18,000 feet MSL without oxygen).

I didn't drink any water, made a few jumps and pack jobs, and then went up on a birdman jump.

I flew off from my 2-way, couldn't figure out where the airport was, and landed in a farmer's field 3 miles off the DZ. I set my helmet and pro-track down, promptly forgot about both, and walked to the road to hitch a ride.

Was definately farther gone than if I'd been drunk.

I was a little thirsty but didn't realize what had happened until I was still thirsty after drinking a few bottles of water and went through over a gallon before I had to relieve myself.

[MF42 0]

Dehydration is absolutely nothing to play around with. At a tender age I got to watch my father come very close to death from simply not drinking enough water. The problem is so easy to fix, too. Pay attention to your water intake and drink a little bit more than you think you need. Problem solved, no need to die or even get sick for so simple a thing.

Matt

[ladydyver 0]

Wow, I am glad everything turned out ok. Thanks for posting. I am a new jumper - medically trained - but have not thought extensively about the effects of dehydration, heat and altitude. You think about those issues when you scuba dive....now I will think about those issues when I jump.

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!

[jdfreefly 1]

Just curious, were you drinking the night before?

That could certainly add to the dehydration, you're already starting the day off with a deficit.

Either way, a good example of how a very experienced jumper can make one or two bad decisions that can add up in a bad way.

Methane Freefly - got stink?

[VectorBoy 0]

Quote

I got really hypoxic on a jump on Monday; it's a good lesson on how _not_ to prepare for a lot of jumping in high temperatures.

Our team had been doing a lot of jumping all weekend. We'd made 12 on Saturday, 10 on Sunday and

Brother I feel for your pain, You did look very knakered on Saturday while I was watching you guys.........from the pool under the shade.
You should have taken my offer to join us on Sunday. It was a sweltering low 90s but noone got hypoxic. Don't feel so bad, our entire group grazed a grip or two all day. Ira even dropped the baton on two consectutive jumps and owes beer. You should join us more often Bill. We promiss not to work you so hard.

[Dougiefresh 0]

Quote

Dehydration is absolutely nothing to play around with. At a tender age I got to watch my father come very close to death from simply not drinking enough water. The problem is so easy to fix, too. Pay attention to your water intake and drink a little bit more than you think you need. Problem solved, no need to die or even get sick for so simple a thing.

Pee often, pee clear. A little lesson I learned the hard way, thankfully before I started jumping.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

[phoenixlpr 0]

Quote

On hot days I drink 6-9l of water a jumping day.

You should not drink too much either. You sweat salt and not water only. You should get salt too or you'll be fucked up too.

Dehydration: How To Recognize And Prevent Its Effects

Quote

The best way to treat dehydration is to prevent it from occurring. If you suspect excessive fluid loss during and illness, your physician should be notified. Intravenous or oral fluid replacement may be needed, depending on severity of fluid loss. In the 1960's the World Health Organization (WHO) developed an oral solution containing sugar, which improved the absorption of salt/water preparations, saving the lives of many dehydrated persons in remote areas. This solution can be prepared at home by mixing the following:

1. Table Salt - 3/4 teaspoon
2. Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
3. Sugar -4 tablespoons
4. Orange juice - I cup
5. Water - I quart/liter

This beverage can be taken in small, frequent sips, and is often tolerated in the face of nausea and vomiting. Several commercial preparations are available, but since their composition varies, your physician should be contacted to decide which replacement solution (if any) is best. Changes in the type or amount of fluid replacement may be needed as symptoms improve. Care must be taken to avoid using these solutions improperly.

[bob.dino 1]

Quote

Quote

On hot days I drink 6-9l of water a jumping day.

You should not drink too much either. You sweat salt and not water only. You should get salt too or you'll be fucked up too.

Good point. I should've mentioned that I usually graze on a bag of salted pistachios through the day.

[tdog 0]

I think that spending time at altitude going around a lot looking for a hole in the clouds had a lot to do with it too... This thread has a lot of dehydration comments, but that is only part of it... A lot of go arounds have sharp turns in the plane, which with the G forces, causes people to breathe more shallow. That combined with people hunched over on their knees by the door ready to leave and moving around a lot... All that adds up from my personal experience when I have felt hypoxia.

I know any go around at our DZ (18,000 MSL jump run) is going to effect me after personal experience. I am normally able to control it with awareness and lots of deep breaths, keeping my torso straight, and not moving a lot... However we do have O2 on board and people do ask for it.

I have had the dehydration idea in the back of my mind for a while now, and the last few FJC I have taught I have brought in bottled water and sit it in the center of the classroom in a cooler and instruct the students to drink a lot... I don't know if it works, but I also know none of my FJC students have complained of hypoxia since I started it... The jury needs more time to deliberate...

Question Bill... Pat dumped you out... Do you think you would have been a-ok to do it yourself? What would you have done if he gave you the AFF style pull sign?

I ask this because I talked with one of my medical friends about a year ago. I asked him about O2 in the blood - from his surgery experience. He told me that it takes about a minute after he adjusts O2 on the patent's intake before it starts to change the O2 in the blood noticeably on the machines... So, from his experience, I pretty much came to the conclusion that if you were super hypoxic and left the plane, you could experience it until pull time...


Bill, thanks for the post... If it could happen to you, it could happen to any one of us... Tell Pat that Travis says hi, he was my first coach, and we still talk a lot.

[billvon 2,991]

> Just curious, were you drinking the night before?

Night before? No. I had a beer in the team room at about 4pm after we had done debriefing, but that night I didn't do much other than go to a pasta place for dinner, walk the dives for the next day and go to sleep.

[billvon 2,991]

>Question Bill... Pat dumped you out... Do you think you would have been
>a-ok to do it yourself?

Yep. I was thinking about pulling anyway but didn't want to pull very high, given we had a team after us and a cameraman above us.

> What would you have done if he gave you the AFF style pull sign?

If it had been high, I would have looked above me a lot then pulled, because although I was worried about dumping high I figured Pat had thought about that too. If it had been at 4500 I would have probably just waved off and pulled.

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

This solution can be prepared at home by mixing the following:

1. Table Salt - 3/4 teaspoon
2. Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
3. Sugar -4 tablespoons
4. Orange juice - I cup
5. Water - I quart/literAlthough not exactly the same and missing some of this -- people looking for convenience, can use Gatorade from one of the many drink machines on a typical dropzone. It contains a measured amount of salt, intentionally formulated, and is less sweet than sodas.

It does noticeably rehydrate faster than water for me during a busy skydive day, without the excessive sugar punch of sodas. So I often intersperse a bottle or two in a day among the water bottles...

I am also particularly fond of iced teas and juices, although not all contain that much salt (but that's easily made up in snacks). Salt consumption is normally to be limited and most people eat too much salt, but if you are actively exercising, a certain limited amount of salt is critically essential - otherwise you essentially feel faint when your body runs low in salt. (Take note if you're skipping meals and drinking only water.)

• Quote

[billvon 2,991]

>people looking for convenience, can use Gatorade from one of
>the many drink machines on a typical dropzone.

At Perris, it might benefit them to replace the drink machines with brightly painted refrigerator boxes. They would work just as well (i.e. not at all) and would take much less power.

Fortunately water is readily available, and the Bomb Shelter usually has things like Gatorade.

[mdrejhon 8]

Actually, a white sunshade (also infrared reflective -- I'm amazed at how many cheap restaurant deck awnings are transparent to infrared wavelengths and I still feel hot under them) above the drink machines works wonders, making sure to keep the drink machines totally in the shadow all day long. Okay, on a 105F day, it may only cool the sodas from a lukewarm 60F down to a cool-but-not-cold 50F. Still better than nothing!

[phoenixlpr 0]

Notice, that was a quote and not my recipe.

[JoeG 0]

Re: gatorade

Quote

It does noticeably rehydrate faster than water for me during a busy skydive day, without the excessive sugar punch of sodas. So I often intersperse a bottle or two in a day among the water bottles...

I am also particularly fond of iced teas and juices

Most sodas actually dehydrate you. Colas and several others contain caffeine, which is a diuretic, and the large amounts of sugar also act as such. Your body tries to dilute the sugar in your stomach, taking fluids from your tissues to do so.

Iced tea, made with actual tea have caffeine in them also, as well as many sweet teas have the same problems as sodas with the sugars. I would also be aware of very sweet juices such as orange juice or others that are sweetened unless you cut them with water.

I generally drink a large gatorade then alternate it with the same amount of water to stay hydrated.

Dehydration is nothing to mess about with. Water loss greater than just 15% can prove fatal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehydration#Symptoms_and_prognosis

http://faculty.washington.edu/kepeter/118/notes/water_balance.htm

_________________________________________
"Knowledge is Power!"

[Spatula 0]

When I was in the military and at indoc, they mandated we drink a mixture of gatorade and water. 2 parts water, 1 part gatorade. We were training on black flag days (ie, 95 degree + in San Antonion) and they said this was more beneficial than straight water, or striaght gatorade. I still drink this combination on hot days.

Nalgene bottles are great, 1000 ml bottle...650ish ml water, 300ish ml gatorade. Just my 2c.

Glad you have good people around you Bill!