I like travel gear. Leading up to a trip I will research and see what new toys I can get. But at this point there isn’t much that I don’t have (and I already have a lot I don’t need.) One of those little preparation purchases that I ended up never using (that is until I was extremely ill in Egypt) was Rehydration Powder also know as Electrolyte Powder. I had bought some for Costa Rica in 2012, and carted it around “just in case”. Well good thing, because when I was 6 days into a 17 day trip to Egypt in 2015…I felt like shit.
Now that was partly because I had climbed into the belly of a pyramid, climbed on top of another, and rode a camel (on top of all the walking) and had worn myself out. But the other reason I was so sick was because I had sweated out so many minerals that drinking straight water wasn’t enough to replenish them. Found within sweat are minerals like potassium, magnesium, chloride, bicarbonate, calcium, phosphate, sulfate, and even sodium essentially: electrolytes. These minerals are essential for your body to function normally. While you may replenish these minerals in normal tap water or food, often when traveling your diet might be abnormal, you might be drinking bottled water, or you just aren’t replenishing electrolytes fast enough to keep up with how much sweat you are losing. Which is why Electrolyte based drinks and powders were created.
Rehydration Powder (also called Oral Rehydration Salts or Electrolyte Powder) can be great if you are starting to experience heat exhaustion or dehydration effects like cramps, headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or fatigue. It also is good to take if you are having travelers diarrhea and some say even if you’ve been drinking a lot. Some people think when they see “Rehydration Salts” that they can just add more table salt and be fine. NO! It’s not the same! And even sports drinks like Gatorade won’t be good enough. So it is important to bring your own Electrolyte Powder (easily found in camping supply stores like REI) when you travel.
Now you don’t want to take too much, as there can be side effects, so it’s recommended to drink small amounts regularly. For me, it was 1/3 of a bottle in the morning or at night depending on how I was feeling. But man, I started feeling better immediately after drinking it. Later in my trip, I shared some of my powder with other people who weren’t feeling well and they too perked up after drinking it. I will now never travel without it.
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