As the number of trekkers increase on the Kokoda and Black Cat Tracks, the
more people will suffer from dehydration. It is not just a matter of not drinking
enough water. It is also about being deficient in salts. And for some there will be
an excess of salts.
Every living plant and creature has a water-salt balance. When the balance is right
for a given creature, the body will be healthy. Take a healthy young plant. If we do
not give water, it will wilt and die. If we give too much fertilizer, it will wilt and die.
Take a fresh water fish and put it into salt water. The salt in its body will increase in
the high salt environment. Water in its body will decrease in the low water environment.
It will dry up and die.
So the trekker has to take clean water and some salt. The water-salt balance should
stay normal. But if the trekker decides to drink only staminade in water, there may
be a surplus of salt and the water-salt balance may still be upset.
We all know about salts. When we have dehydration, the first thing we do is take
rehydration salts.
No comments:
Post a Comment