My heart goes out to the families of the two Georgia teenagers who died Tuesday after football practices in this terrible heat wave.
The 16-year-old athlete from Locust Grove High School reportedly succumbed to kidney and liver failure, a common result of heat stroke.
The sadness of these tragedies is all the worse because they might have been prevented.
Every year, coaches on the playing fields and doctors in their offices warn of the dangers of overheating, dehydration and damage to vital organ systems.
In 1984, almost 30 years ago, I gave a television guest editorial on this subject. At that time, there had been more than 20 consecutive years in which teenage boys died during or after football practice — and all of them had died of heat-related illness.
And ever since then, year after year, young men across the country still die during or after athletic practices in this intense summer heat.
Heat produces sweating, which causes a loss of fluid. An athlete who weighs 150 pounds before practice and 147 pounds after practice has lost three pounds, or 2 percent of his body weight — and is in imminent danger of dehydration.
A person who loses 3 pounds of blood would be in shock. Someone losing 3 pounds of sweat also would be in shock. He would have less fluid to circulate to the brain and might feel dizzy and off-balance. He might fall down and break an arm or a leg, or he might hit his head.
A sudden loss of body fluid also can concentrate the red blood cells because there is less fluid in which to disperse them.
This thick, sticky mass of red blood cells could form a clot, and the clot could travel through blood vessels to the liver, kidney, pancreas, spinal cord, brain or almost any organ, depriving the organ of its blood supply and causing serious and irreparable damage.
All of this devastating cascade of injury can be prevented. This is how to do it:
● Wear light-weight clothing instead of full body uniforms for daytime practices.
● Wear light-colored clothing that reflects heat instead of darker colors that retain heat.
● Drink clear liquids before, during and after practice. There is some argument as to what fluids are best. Some doctors advise drinking only water, maintaining that sports drinks with sugar contain calories, which add to body heat. Other doctors believe the scientists at the University of Florida medical school would not have invented Gatorade if they thought it were dangerous. I have no opinion on the matter.
● Weigh before, during and after practice.
● Drink more fluids if weight loss occurs during practice. Monitor the color of the athlete’s urine: If it is pale yellow or colorless, he is well-hydrated. If it is darker like ginger ale, he needs to drink more fluids.
A chain is as strong as its weakest link. There is a weak link in here somewhere, and we need to find it.
This seemingly endless chain of summertime adolescent death must come to a stop.
Dr. E. Noel Preston of Sandy Springs is a retired pediatrician.
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