Healthy Hearts
Staying hydrated
- Let the doctor know if your child is experiencing chest pain with exercise, has fainted, or complains of irregular or fast heart beats; or if anyone in the family has a sudden unexplained death (drowning, car accident), heart attack at a young age, or any other heart conditions. If you don't know, then ask around at family gatherings so you can be prepared when the doctor asks at the annual physical or at sports physicals.
- Where is the AED? That is the Automated External Defibrillator. It saves lives. Know where it is kept in the sports field. It needs to be easily accessible at practices and games. Did I mention that it saves lives? It is very easy to use, studies show that 6th graders are just as fast at using it as experienced emergency personnel!
- This is a brain injury, take it seriously! The NFL does.
- Go to the ER if your child had loss of consciousness and/or is vomiting!
- No school or any activity until seen by a doctor. Call us to schedule an appointment.
- Read more about concussions and symptoms here (American Academy of Pediatrics) and here (CDC).
Staying hydrated
- Athletes only need water to stay hydrated. They don't need gatorade every day. Sugar is very cheap in the US (although that might change with sugary beverage taxes that are being proposed in Congress), so it is NOT in your child's best interest, but rather in the best of interest of the sports drink companies to make you think that your child NEEDS the sweet electrolyte replenishment to perform to the fullest. Even sugar free options still make the body respond as if sugar was being consumed (i.e. still increases the risk of heart disease, liver disease). Keep it simple, stick to water on a regular basis.
- However, on a severely hot sweltering humid day or on a day that your child feels a bit less hungry and is not eating as much, 1 sports drink bottle might be helpful to staying hydrated. Or for that major game where a nice treat just belongs in the psych bag. Key word being "treat", not an every day occurrence.