With the Heat soring ever higher as the summer moves forward, the topic of preventing heat illness for our athletes is paramount. Below are tips dealing with this subject.

Please go over these items with you athlete to help them understand the importance of staying cool to not only perform well, but more importantly… be safe and not risk getting a heat related illness.

A. Hydrate well before and during exercise and replace lost electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium with food or a sports drink (16 to 20 ounces/hour). Pedialyte is great for this.

B.Use sunscreen to prevent sunburn, which can limit the skin’s ability to cool itself. lite weight and lite color long sleeve shirt add to sunburn prevention (if athlete is in heat duress, remove extra layers)

C. Neck Cooling. The athlete places an ice pack or ice-cold towel on the back of the neck for short intervals of 5 to 10 minutes. This has the effect of dissipating body heat from contact with the cold surface of the ice pack or towel. It also cools the blood flowing through the carotid artery to the brain, which has a positive effect on the athlete’s sensation of heat and makes him/her feel less hot. Neck cooling can be used in combination with a cooling vest to promote maximal cooling prior to a training session or competition. It can also be used effectively during multi-events, either alone or in combination with a cooling vest.

D. Ice Slurry / Slurpee®. Recent studies have shown that a very effective and easy way to cool the body’s core temperature prior to training or competing in a hot and humid environment is by ingestion of an ice slurry drink, better known as a Slurpee®. The ice slurry drink should be ingested slowly over a 30-minute period prior to training or competition. The volume of ice slurry drink should be about the size of a standard commercial Slurpee® (28 oz). Ice slurry ingestion can be done in conjunction with use of other cooling strategies, such as the cooling vest and/or neck cooling. Of course, the athlete can use a blender to make his/her own ice slurry to contain a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink or other nutritional ergogenic ingredients. Ingestion of an ice slurry drink has the dual benefit of cooling the body’s core temperature without cooling the arm and leg muscles, and it also cools the blood flowing to the brain via the carotid artery

E. Cooling vest / Towel / Shirt. The athlete wears a lightweight vest over a t-shirt or next to the skin for a minimum of 30 min prior to a training session or competition, and for shorter intervals during competition breaks

E. If you feel your abilities start to diminish, stop the activity and seek out a cool, shaded place.

I will have my blue ice chest with ice and water to serve as a place to wet your cooling towel, shirts, neck rags ext…

Also attached is heat index chart, which sporting events typically use in determining when to stop competitions. In the southwest we are usually in the dark orange. Red is never good in my opinion.

and heat related chart of what to look for and what to do.