Posted on Jul 29, 2016
"Second Lt. Michael Parros died after being treated for hyponatremia." Anyone have any experience with over hydration?
18.8K
171
69
14
14
0
"A 21 year-old soldier and West Point graduate died Wednesday on his first day of U.S. Army Ranger school after becoming ill and taken to a hospital.
"Second Lt. Michael Parros died after being treated for hyponatremia at a hospital near Fort Benning on the Georgia-Alabama border, according to Army officials. Hyponatremia is a condition where the level of sodium in the blood is too low and the level of water in the body is too high.
"Parros fell ill on Monday, less than a month after reporting to Fort Benning on June 27 and served with the 199th Infantry Brigade, according to officials. In may, Parros graduated from the United States Military Academy.
"'This is a tragic loss,' Lt. Co. Matthew Weber said in a statement. 'While 2nd Lt. Parros was only with us for a short time, he showed so much potential and was the epitome of the kind of soldier you want to serve with. We are truly saddened to lose a member of our Army family.'
"Parros was a quarterback for state champion Concord’s De La Salle High School football team and then later played football, hockey and soccer while at West Point, while also being a member of the Cultural Affairs club, Army officials said."
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2016/07/28/west-point-grad-dies-after-hospitalization-during-ranger-school/87660358/
"Second Lt. Michael Parros died after being treated for hyponatremia at a hospital near Fort Benning on the Georgia-Alabama border, according to Army officials. Hyponatremia is a condition where the level of sodium in the blood is too low and the level of water in the body is too high.
"Parros fell ill on Monday, less than a month after reporting to Fort Benning on June 27 and served with the 199th Infantry Brigade, according to officials. In may, Parros graduated from the United States Military Academy.
"'This is a tragic loss,' Lt. Co. Matthew Weber said in a statement. 'While 2nd Lt. Parros was only with us for a short time, he showed so much potential and was the epitome of the kind of soldier you want to serve with. We are truly saddened to lose a member of our Army family.'
"Parros was a quarterback for state champion Concord’s De La Salle High School football team and then later played football, hockey and soccer while at West Point, while also being a member of the Cultural Affairs club, Army officials said."
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2016/07/28/west-point-grad-dies-after-hospitalization-during-ranger-school/87660358/
Ranger School
Death
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 42
1
1
0
In 1979 when I went thru boot, we had to drink a canteen of salt water at day. It was two packets of salt, in a canteen, the rest were regular water. My drills made sure we were watered. I had Nam vets as drills. Very experienced. Now, out in the fleet, a different story. We had more cases of chuckleheads NOT drinking water, never saw a person get in trouble drinking too much.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
Very sad this has happened. I know that his condition can happen to anyone or an athlete. When you lose sodium and only drink water it won't fix your problem. This is one of many things that I have learned during my desert and jungle training in my younger years while in the Marine Corps. I hope for the best for the LT'S family and love ones. I also think that the U.S. Army Ranger School should review their respective safety, health, and comfort order's. Just my opinion and thoughts.
Semper Fidelis,
James
Semper Fidelis,
James
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
Yes, saw it happen. The blood system can only expand so much. Blood cells become engorged with fluid and will explode. Once that happens, you are done, capute, game over!
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
I'm so sorry to hear this young man died from such a treatable, recognizable and preventable condition. Such a senseless loss... I pray for his family and friends at this time.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
When I taught survival techniques for most of my career, I taught all of my students and Platoon members during my time in the Desert and Jungles, to put one tablespoon of salt and sugar it a gallon of water and mix it thoroughly and that will protect against heat cramps, and from over hydration. When in the field we used the packets in our MRE'S. I have been on bases where others who were training hard in the heat who had not adequately acclimatized suffered from Heat Stroke and hyponatremia, so it is a valid cause of death. We need to make sure that people understand the symptoms and treatments such as the Colonel stated about the salt. Good post to get the word out. I am sorry about the loss of Second Lt. Michael Parros. My prayers go out to his family.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
When I was in basic (1967) there were salt pills in a dispenser in every mess hall but I understand the powers that be decided too much salt was bad and they were removed some years later. I'd heard the condition called water intoxication. It came to light when the Army adopted Israeli Army's "force drink" policy on road marches. (At given intervals, everybody stopped and drank.) It turned out a 100-pound soldier couldn't safely drink as much as a 200 pounder.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
There is a fine line between ensuring your Soldiers are adequately hydrated and pushing them to a point of over-hydration. A chain-of-command that knows everyone in it may be relieved in the event of a heat injury has that much more incentive to be over-enthusiastic in the hydration push. It does not help that this condition is not discussed (at least in my experience) when the heat injury training is presented. There are a lot of people who don't even know that over-hydration is possible, much less the symptoms to look for.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
I had a minor situation of the same issue some time ago and it was attributed to 4 days of flying in aircraft and dehydration cause by the cabin air. It was a wake up call for me. I am curious why the military stopped issuing salt tablets. We ate them by the handful in Vietnam and other hot climates, and then our medics stopped stocking the tablets. I agree that the low sodium diet could contribute to an imbalance in body chemistry.
(1)
(0)
Lt Col Paul Maxwell
The devil is in the details, CHIEF. This is a really brief primer, perhaps:
while this case is centered around overhydration and the depletion/lack of replacement of salt and electrolytes ( big 5 in our systems are Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Calcium, and Magnesium). If you are over hydrated, without a paired replacement source (salt tabs, Gatorade, other sport/hydration supplements) the balance of these drops too low. Dehydration, which can be avoided with increased water intake, is usually the more common problem, and when profound, the levels of some or all electrolytes can rise too dangerous levels. Too high or too low, when electrolytes get out of normal ranges, our bodies and our brains don't work as well.
Salt tabs were removed/deemphasized from common use in high school/college/pro sports as well as field issue for troops, because of the problems with overuse and cramps/symptoms they can cause. As our understanding of the science improved since 60-70s, so did our alternatives. We began to emphasize adding more salt to foods w dietary intake, where we also got the other electrolytes beyond the Sodium and Chloride in the salt. Hope that helps ?
while this case is centered around overhydration and the depletion/lack of replacement of salt and electrolytes ( big 5 in our systems are Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, Calcium, and Magnesium). If you are over hydrated, without a paired replacement source (salt tabs, Gatorade, other sport/hydration supplements) the balance of these drops too low. Dehydration, which can be avoided with increased water intake, is usually the more common problem, and when profound, the levels of some or all electrolytes can rise too dangerous levels. Too high or too low, when electrolytes get out of normal ranges, our bodies and our brains don't work as well.
Salt tabs were removed/deemphasized from common use in high school/college/pro sports as well as field issue for troops, because of the problems with overuse and cramps/symptoms they can cause. As our understanding of the science improved since 60-70s, so did our alternatives. We began to emphasize adding more salt to foods w dietary intake, where we also got the other electrolytes beyond the Sodium and Chloride in the salt. Hope that helps ?
(1)
(0)
CMSgt Steve Pennington
Thank you so much for the response, Sir. Your explanation was almost verbatim of what the Doctors told me after my incident, and very timely for me. I am leaving tomorrow for a 2 week motorcycle ride with the worlds greatest son in law through some very hot climate. I will be leaving the moderate climate of Washington State and flying to Las Vegas and meeting up with him in Henderson. I'll stop by Nellis on the way out of town and stock up on Gatorade, water, and hydration supplements. Will also stop and see a dear friend who is, as you, a Flight Nurse, working at Nellis. Again, thank you for trhe health brief. CMS SLP USAF RET
(0)
(0)
1
1
0
Humans need salt to live. Too much water and not enough salt especially combined with lots of perspiration. Boom , this happens. Almost the same in effect, yet opposite of heatstroke, which is too much salt, not enough water. At to what the lieutenant died of, this is why "Gatorade" works as a thirst quencher than only water and also prevents this syndrome from occurring.. However, salt water with too much salt , causes the same effect as Heatstroke.
One other thing, in cases of diarrhea caused by anything, a sodium and water replacement such as gatorade is a good idea also. As severe diarrhea can cause an electrolyte imbalance from loss of water same as heatstroke and cause a heart-attack , and kill. I lost a family member to that.
One other thing, in cases of diarrhea caused by anything, a sodium and water replacement such as gatorade is a good idea also. As severe diarrhea can cause an electrolyte imbalance from loss of water same as heatstroke and cause a heart-attack , and kill. I lost a family member to that.
(1)
(0)
1
1
0
An electrolyte imbalance affects both your heart and your kidneys; there are recorded cases of suicide by over-hydration. When I was a field medic, we monitored training exercises carefully, and pushed fluid+'lytes (usually Gatorade) on those showing symptoms of distress. We also had IV fluids ready for any instance where there was no nearby hospital.
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google