ausfire Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place for this post, but just felt that I would like to make this comment in the interests of personal safety and general health. Admin please delete if this infringes the guidelines. I may be preaching to the converted here, but I think people who work in an environment such as ours, especially in hot weather need to be acutely aware of the need for good hydration. If you are working over a hot forge in hot weather and you have not had a drink all day, you are not doing your body any favours. I have been away from this forum for quite some time due to poor health, and it's not until recently that it was brought home to me how I have been neglecting my body for years simply because of lack of water. Even if you don't feel thirsty, it is important to keep your fluid levels up. If you don't look after yourself in this way, especially as you grow older, it will catch up with you in the end. Like many us, (well, blokes anyway), we may suffer from enlarged prostate as we grow older and that condition can impact severely on your ability to expel fluids. I required a very fast trip to ER because of urinary retention which is a very serious, frightening and extremely painful experience. It can be life threatening if you don't get to hospital fast. The paramedics were very good and gave me pain killers for the 20 minute rush to hospital where a catheter was immediately inserted. My point is this: be aware of the need to hydrate, even in cooler weather and do not neglect the symptoms of enlarged prostate. Better to get something done about it before you are forced into an emergency situation. I was fortunate to be referred to a urology surgeon fairly quickly and underwent the necessary operation - Trans Urethral Resection of Prostate (TURP) and I have been recovering quite well. No hammering steel for a few weeks yet though. So guys, NEVER EVER underestimate the value of a good pee, because if it stops altogether, you need to get help without delay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Hi Ausfire. It's good to see your avatar and hear you are on the mend. I suffered heat exhaustion and dehydration once and it sent me to the ER. I didn't stop peeing but I did stop sweating among other things. It was a close call and no fun... Thanks for the prostate information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Got a friend who just suffers heat exhaustion last week. The AC on the city tractor decided to quit and the heater blend door hung open. 6 hours in the ER and a couple of weeks off work. Bet the City gets the AC fixed... I had heat stroke as a kid and being both ex infantry and ex fire fighter I am acutely aware of hydration. Especially being an AZ desert rat by raising. Boys if you find the stream getting week go see your Vet, I take medicine so I pee like a human being, and am sure a rotor rooter job is in my future. I personally find hydration in the winter to be difficult, even tho it’s just as important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Dehydration is sneaky in places with low humidity because you never get sweaty. The perspiration evaporates away and cools you and the system works except you are losing liquid and you only have so much to give up to cooling. Given my time in midwestern summers, Vietnam, Panama, and other humid places I tend to think that I'm OK because I am not soaking wet with sweat. This is a fallacy that I have to consciously have to correct whether I am in the shop, cutting the grass, or otherwise engaged in activity in high temperatures. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 15, 2021 Share Posted August 15, 2021 Along with hydration, it's important to maintain your electrolyte levels. I take what used to be called salt pills, but now are Medi-Lyte tablets. Most of the sports drinks will do also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Thanks for sharing the info Aus. I'll agree that if you are having difficulty urinating, talk to your dr. about it. See a specialist if needed. Don't wait. I thought I had an enlarged prostate but it turned out to be a bladder tumor. Got it taken care of and all was good again after recovery. Don't let your pride get in the way of being healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 16, 2021 Share Posted August 16, 2021 Definitely something to consult with your Doctor about as most of the possibilities are fairly easy to deal with if caught early and some of them are very rough and tragic if allowed to wait! I've had a TURP too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 17, 2021 Share Posted August 17, 2021 Good to see you posting again Aus and even happier to hear you're on the mend. Bummer about the plumbing but it happens. Detection has gotten easier and more accurate with blood tests, I haven't had a prostate probing in a few years now, except the one a new GP wanted to perform as a getting to know you gesture. I should've gotten checked and treated for type II diabetes a couple years before I did. It's not that I thought I was tough, I just didn't think I was sick. The symptom I missed was drinking water all the time and losing weight. I won't go into it but things can sneak up on you. It's the boiling the frog thing. Drop a frog in boiling water and it'll jump out, put the frog in cool water and heat it slowly and it won't notice before it dies. Sometimes it ain't just a twinge guys. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted August 18, 2021 Share Posted August 18, 2021 Hydration is of the utmost importance especially if you've been ill. I was recovering from a bout of pseudo colitis brought on by antibiotics and thought I was over the worst of it. I set up all my equipment and lit the forge. Next thing I know I woke up staring at the sky. I drove to the hospital and was informed I was so dehydrated my kidneys were shutting down. It's easier than you would think to become critically dehydrated. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted August 19, 2021 Author Share Posted August 19, 2021 Thank you all for sharing your experiences and writing comments here. I will be starting the forge again on Sunday after about 6 weeks away from doing the daily demos. I'll start with three days a week plus Sunday and just do an hour or so each day. Don't want to overdo it, and I'll stick to small S twist hooks, troll crosses and such for the moment. Tourists really don't care what you do so long as they see hot steel being moved. And I shall be sure to have that bottle of water near the forge at all times. I learnt my lesson! Cheers everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 I prefer the lidded stein to the plastic bottle, keeps the wee beasties out and looks more appropriate! (I'm looking up one for a demo in a couple of weeks myself) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 I live near Fabulous Las Vegas NV where we average 4" of rain a year, and humidity during the summer runs single digits to low teens outside of the monsoon season. I have seen 113F and 1% reported at the airport. As said earlier, the low humidity can catch you off guard, and a lot of tourists find out the hard way when they hit the concrete. You can spot the locals by the water bottles they carry, and I usually have at least a gallon in the car. I will drink upwards of a gallon or more of water a day at home, and the water fountains at work get visited quite often as well. A good rule of thumb is you should be peeing a few times a day, and it should be clear. If it is dark, you are not drinking enough, nor peeing enough. I drink tap water, and ours is so hard it should have plenty of minerals in it to replace what I sweat out. Alcohol (beer) may feel refreshing, but it dehydrates you, so not the best when trying to stay hydrated. Glad to hear you are on the mend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 Winters here is when most folk let themselves get dehydrated. Just breathing sucks the water right out of you surprisingly fast even if you avoid sweating. Sweating is dangerous in extreme cold and one of the best reasons to wear lots of thin layers over one or two thick ones. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 19, 2021 Share Posted August 19, 2021 One of my first indicators of dehydration, are when my thumbs tend to lock up. Time to catch up on my fluid intake fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetreeforge Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 I get kidney stones really badly if I don't drink enough, its not painful but its not nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 Is that what your doctor told you? I have heard that limes and lemons help prevent them, but I am no doctor. I developed a taste for limes many years ago, and have never had that problem. I eat them everyday. It destroyed the enamel on my teeth though, so now I have plastic choppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHC Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 I measured a stone once. 5mmx8mm, with the surface texture of rock candy. I’ve had a heat stroke and heat exhaustion too. My job is all about water too, from producing and treating drinking water, maintaining the distribution system for several communities, to collecting and treating the wastewater. I handle it from start to finish! Water is a necessity of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetreeforge Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/20/2022 at 7:40 AM, Nodebt said: Is that what your doctor told you? Yes thats what the doctor said, had a sample tested to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 I had bad well water once. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. 4 hours ago, SHC said: Water is a necessity of life. A dwindling resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 One of the major issues for development in the semi-arid west is water, where do you get it, what is the quality, and what do you do with it once you've used it. Personally, this is the first time in my life that I've been on a well and septic system although I have known a lot about them for years. Just had to have the well pump replaced last week. The old one had been down there since 1981. That was a $2500 outlay we hadn't counted on but I don't expect that we will have any more problems in our life times. We have talked about the unexpected problems city folk have when moving to a rural area. Not being on municipal water and sewer can be a real paradigm shift for them that they hadn't anticipated. Also, that your water supply is dependent on your electricity supply to power the pump is an unexpected fact. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 And your septic is is dependant on your water supply..... I learned to keep 5 gallon buckets full of water on hand just for flushing the toilets when the power or well quit. Lol... I had a pit well old as the hills and learned to fix a lot of my own things the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetreeforge Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Sounds like our place, power could be off for 9 days in a row which means no pump, no running water, no way to do washing, and the people with the fancy septic tanks with the pumps cannot use the toilet at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 I think living in the boondocks turned me into a upcycler/recycler/repurposer/hoarder. Who want's to drive an hour round trip, blow $10 in gas just for a $.50 spring, nut or shear pin when you need it NOW? My sister has 2 pumps on her septic system... Lol.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Nodebt, I go collect nuts and bolts at the scrapyard and love it when folks "clean out Grandad's garage" and take it to the dump! Shoot I'm using a drill I bought at the scrapyard for 20 UScents a pound and my 200# Delta Jointer---complete and in great shape came from there too---that was US$40... When the weather is bad I can sit in the shop and sort nuts and bolts and sockets and wrenches that all have come home with me. We're on "city water" luckily we can abbreviate Polvadera Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association on the checks! However we have a septic tank which works great *if* you learn what NOT to flush. Some "common" household items will trash your leach bed fairly fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 (edited) Thomas, I used to have a couple of those hvy duty nut and bolt dividers/organizers and when I moved I had to leave them go so I dumped the common sizes into 5 gal buckets and took them along. I couldn't justify anything bigger than 3/4". I did the same with all my tiny parts organizers, screws, small springs, cotter keys, small bearings and the like. They were all meticulasly organized but I was running into a deadline for moving day so I dumped all the little drawers into one 5 gallon bucket and then I wrapped it with a half a roll of that stringy packing tape. I was afraud it would bust in the truck. What a mess that would be, eh? I just now got curious how much it weighed so I got out the scale. 95 lbs of tiny, miniscule parts to re-sort. But I like sorting things, especially on rainy days... As far as drain fields go, no ciggarette butts, paper towels or rocks. Edited February 21, 2022 by Nodebt Fix a thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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