U.S. military Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) tablets

[TrailTramp]

Lisa Bliss, MD mentioned on the Dartmouth Ultra list recently that ORS tablets were the panacea at the 2004/05 Badwaters, thanks to Nancy Shura providing them.

If anyone cares to share experiences using ORS tabs it would be greatly appreciated.

Trampler

[Marcia]

Do you know what the ingredients are? And in what quantities?
I'm just wondering how they differ from, say, S! caps.

[TrailTramp]

An excerpt of a post to the Dartmouth Ultra Loon List on 12/11/05 by Maj. Fredrick Dummar, US Army Reserves:

"Later in my Army career I was given packets of ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts).  We normally carried ORS mixture in one canteen and plain water in another.  By taste you could normally tell if you "needed" the ORS.  If sodium depleted the ORS tasted like a magic elixir, and if not it tastes pretty nasty.

One ORS packet is usually mixed with a liter/quart and contains:

Sodium Chloride - 3.5g
Potassium Chloride - 1.5g
Trisodium Citrate, dihydrate - 2.9g
Dextrose Anhydrous - 20.0g

Provides:

Sodium (mEq) 21.3-Per 8Fl Oz - 90 Per Liter
Potassium (mEq) 4.7 -Per8 Fl Oz - 20 Per Liter
Chloride (mEq) 19.0 -Per 8Fl Oz - 80 Per Liter
Citrate (meQ) 2.4 -Per 8 Fl Oz - 10 Per Liter
Glucose (mEq) 26.2 -Per 8 Fl Oz - 111 Per Liter

Lisa Bliss, MD's response to Maj. Dummar:

"Doom, ORS's were the panacea at Badwater in 2004 and 2005 (courtesy of Nancy Shura - Thanks Nancy!).  The runners LOVED the stuff.  I can't recall one runner who couldn't tolerate it.  We mixed it in whatever was palatable to the runner.  It was amazing to see the runners come back alive after one or two of these packets.  As you say, each packet contains 3.5g of sodium chloride or 1.4g of sodium, which is equivalent to 4 Succeed! tabs.  Worth more than gold in the heat of Death Valley."(emphasis mine)

p.s. I have not personally verified the ingredients - Trampler

[TrailTramp]

Lisa Bliss, MD has ever so kindly offered to forward my way a power point presentation on her Badwater experience with hyponatremia in 2004 entitled, "The Badwater Ultramarathon & Hyponatremia:  Can You Drink Too Much in The Desert?"

If you're interested in it, please let me know and I'll email it to you off-list.

Thanks Doc Lisa,

Trampler

[drozinsky]

So if this is a such a great thing I'd like to try it in my training and next race. Where do you buy this stuff?

Thanks,
Dmitry.

[TrailTramp]

Dmitry,

Do an online search of "Oral Rehydration Salts."  Many distributors sell them online.

Also, I just purchased them from Nancy Shura-Dervin, who is a member of this forum.  The manufacturer is Jianas Bros. Packaging Co., Kansas City, Missouri:  www.rehydrate.org/resources/jianas.htm

Jianas Bros. require a minimum purchase of a carton which contains 125# packets at $0.55/ea.  1-4 cartons is $68.75 per carton.    

If you don't want to purchase a full carton, which I didn't because I didn't know if I would like them, Nancy will sell any amount to you for $1/packet.  It's the same formula of ingredients described here in this thread.

--TrailTrampler

[ultraladies]

Disclaimer #1:  You should consult with your physician before following the recommendations below.

Disclaimer #2:  Anyone attempting to run Badwater should consult their psychiatrist!

The contents of ORS are as follows:

Sodium Chloride = 3.5g
Potassium Chloride = 1.5g
Trisodium Citrate, dihydrate = 2.9g
Glucose Anhydrous = 20.0g

Directions:  Dissolve powder in ONE LITER of water.   For maintenance, under extreme heat conditions (ie., Badwater), consume one liter over 4-hours.  

Packets can be carried on training runs and dissolved by the spoonful into your water bottle.  There is no flavor so it can also be mixed with sport drinks.

At my 2003 Badwater I consumed one liter ORS every 4-hours for the entire 52-hours (approx. 13 packets).  I also took some salt tabs during the first day in Death Valley.   If I experienced even the slightest twinge of cramping, I added some Potassium Magnesium Aspartate tablets for a couple of hours.   Many of the casualties in 2003 were crew members as the thermometer hit 130.  My crew did well by drinking ORS on the first day.

Per Lisa Bliss' ultra-list post, not only were the ORS salts miraculous in the medical unit, they are very well tolerated.  At the 2004 race, I worked the medical crew and gave the ORS to several notable runners who were having problems... Marshall U., Jack Denness, John Radich.  Everyone e-mailed me afterward to praise the ORS.  

One particular front runner, Robert Wimmer from Germany, actually dropped out at the Panamint medical station.  I gave him a liter of ORS over a few hours.  He recovered and went to Chris Kostman asking to be allowed to continue.  He finished the race in 9th place... 36:53:08.

I will supply ORS packets to anyone who e-mails me.  The cost is $1.00 per liter packet plus shipping.