Heat and Headaches

[FastPitchCat]

over the weekend, DD complained about having headaches after the team warmed up before the game and got worse during the game. it was in the mid-90's not extremely bad, but the humidity was stifling.


DD said she was drinking water + gatorade but said that didn't help and had to resort to advil.
she also used her frog togs in between innings.

i really dislike having to use any sort of medication.

I'm not sure how much hydration she had during and particularly in the days prior to the tournament. DD's stubborn when instruction comes from coach dad or mom

Can someone please advise? she does listen when i say DFP said so

 

[Doug Romrell]

Medical experts out there...... Isn't Tylenol better to use in this situation? Nonetheless, it has been my experience that our girls, 10 or 16 or any teen, seldom understands what drinking enough water actually means. When it's hot and they are playing hard, I think it's almost impossible to stay fully hydrated at the rate of water-drinking most of these girls drink.

 

[sluggers]

Doug is right... Here in Texas, football coaches tell the kids, "If you wait until you are thirsty to drink water, then you have waited too long. Drink water to *avoid* becoming thirsty." That really is excellent advice...if you follow that advice (i.e., drink small amounts of water all the time), it works much better than drinking large amount of water once or twice.

Also, have her skip the Gatorade. IMHO, it is terrible for baseball/softball.

Gatorade really isn't meant to be a thirst quencher. It primarily is a liquid energy supplement. (Basically, it is just sugar water.)

With intense physical activities (running, basketball, football), Gatorade *MIGHT* have some benefits.
But, softball/baseball isn't intense physical activity.

Take away the Gatorade. Tell her to drink water. Make sure she eats good, balanced meals. If she wants snacks, get some oranges.

 

[obbay]

Gatorade really isn't meant to be a thirst quencher. It primarily is a liquid energy supplement. (Basically, it is just sugar water.)

I thought it replaced electrolytes that you lose sweating. We used to take salt tablets and sometimes sugar tablets at summer Soccer practices.
This weekend both my DD and I got kind of nauseous feeling from drinking too much water. Not sure what happened but still hot and thirsty but feeling kind of bloated. Not sure what happened-at least I didn't have to pitch.

I don't know if this would help the headaches but something DD does in heat is brings a facecloth that she keeps soaking in icewater in a small cooler. When they come off the field, she wipes her face and sits in the shade, often wearing the facecloth on top of her head.

 

[starsnuffer]

Electrolytes, it's what plants crave!

Unfortunately, softball players are not plants. That stuff is bad juju. If your DD doesn't like water because she can't stand the way her own mouth tastes, then you can mix small amounts of gatorade with water for flavor (1:4 ratio).

Hydration starts days before, as mentioned earlier, also, headaches can also be caused by low blood sugar. Make sure her diet consists of foods that will sustain energy, IE stay away from caffeine, sugar, and simple carbs.

She may have just been sick that day too or going through menstrual complications, which tends to happen to humans from time to time.

-W

 

[sbmom19]

It is really important that players drink a lot of water 2-3 days before a tournament. I really don't think that this is stressed enough. Players understand that they need to drink lots DURING the tournament but seem unaware that they need to be doing this several days before as well to avoid dehydration...

 

[KCPRK]

Tylenol is NOT what you want to use. It is only a pain reliever these days and is no longer the headache medicine. Also there are very strict limits to the amount of Tylenol you can take and the stress it puts on the liver can be too much for children when combined with other symptoms and stressors.

 

[starsnuffer]

Another thing that really helps is to avoid stagnation. OILF mentioned GI load with water, and this is a real thing. One can't simply prehydrate for days before a game whilst sitting on ones arse. One of the best ways to get game ready is to engage in regular exertion and conditioning in the days before and making the body's hydration sequence work ahead of time: water in, sweat out. That way when game day hits it isn't a shock to the system. This is why it's called conditioning.

-W

 

[Coach JV]

Hydration begins the evening before games start. My DD swears off gatorade
and dissolves tablets into water for electrolytes and also drinks 'Smart Water'

The old adage of 'drink before you get thirsty' applies to this sport

 

[csmda5]

She needs to drink her water 24 hours prior. We learn this in football. You always hydrate the day before, so start doubling her water. Also, look into magnesium supplements. My daughter gets migraines, she was cursed by me and her father with this. Magnesium will also help with her electrolyte balance. Maybe look into some high potassium snacks as well.

Alternate tylenol and motrin with kids. So if you take motrin one day, take tylenol the next. Tylenol affects liver and motrin affects the kidneys. You'll find that tylenol works better with tension headaches and heat/dehydration head aches.