This is a transcript of a Dr. Jay Show broadcast on 1560TheGame. Dr. J. Michael Bennett is a Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon and a Fellowship Trained Sports Medicine Physician serving patients from Katy, Fort Bend County, Metro Houston and Southeast Texas from offices in Houston and Sugar Land, TX. Call 281-633-8600 for an appointment. Our special guest today is Dr. Terence Chang, a family practice physician Board Certified in Sports Medicine from Physicians at Sugar Creek in Sugar Land, TX.
Here’s the transcript of the second portion of the Show:
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| University of Florida football player Chip Hinton testing out Gatorade in 1965, pictured next to one of its inventors, James Robert Cade (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
BENNETT: We’ve got a phone call here. We have Sarah. Sarah, welcome to Saturdays with Dr. Jay. What can we do for you today?
CALLER: I have a son and a daughter who play baseball and softball. My son passed out during practice one day. We’ve done the cardiac work-up; everything’s fine with his heart. They said it was dehydration. What’s the best way to keep him hydrated? Gatorade? Water?
BENNETT: That’s an excellent question, Sarah. Actually what most people don’t know is that kids are more prone to heat-related illnesses than adults because of their body surface area as well as the fact that their sweat mechanisms aren’t the same as an adult; they sweat a little bit less than an adult. Dr. Chang, what can you say to that in regards to her question regarding dehydration?
CHANG: I think basically you did the right thing. I mean you take him into the doc, have him check out the heart because that’s the first thing you worry about. In regard to water versus Gatorade, for short distance or short durations it doesn’t matter; either one’s fine. If they’re doing a long-distance run or doing a cross country run or training where they’re going to be out there running or out there for a long period of time then you do want to throw in some sports drinks that balance out the electrolytes. So use Gatorade or Powerade or whatever your sports drink of choice if they’re doing long distance. But if they’re just out there for a short period of time and they’re not really doing much running, then the evidence shows that water and Gatorade is pretty much equivalent.
BENNETT: And I think that it’s really key to be vigilant with these kids that are really young, these little leaguers or these kids that are playing football because they do produce a little bit more heat, they sweat less, they don’t want to drink, and they do have – because of their body size – a limited cardiac output, which means they’re pumping out a little less blood and fluid making heat transfer more difficult. And that’s just because they’re smaller. And it’s key that kids hydrate more frequently, and sometimes you have to entice them; you can give them water but a lot of times these kids aren’t going to drink the water because they don’t like the way it tastes so sometimes you have to give them some Gatorade or Powerade to make it a little bit more enticing. And it’s key to make sure they’re out there playing with limited coverage, meaning you don’t want to have them out there in full pads; have them in shorts and helmets for the first week or so to allow them to acclimatize.
If you have questions about your child and sports, please call our office for an appointment at 281-633-8600.
