Re: The Weekly Dirt, for 31 March '98

> This has been bothering me since I first read it.  I assume the heart of a
> mammal would fail under the same circumstances, wouldn't it?  Such as 4-H
> kids putting a running hose in a hog's mouth to increase its weight?
> Margaret

Yes, it would.  But it's pretty hard to actually get enough to cause the
electrolyte imbalance -- that's why I said rare, and more common in kids
b/c their total fluid balance is lower to start with.  That pig would
have to drink a considerable amount, given body weight, or be dehydrated
to begin with.  As another poster said, the best fluid if one is
severely dehydrated is an isotonic one -- one with electrolytes -- eg
Gatorade, Pedialyte, etc. -- and why they give you fluids with
electrolytes via IV in hospital if you are dehydrated -- not just saline
solution.  (though salt contains two of the electrolytes -- sodium and
chloride).  Potassium is usually the easiest to get out of whack and
kill you -- a banana is great for potassium in a pinch.  

-- 
Amy Moseley Rupp (amyr@austx.tandem.com)  Austin, TX, USDA z8b, Sunset z30
Amy Moseley (amy@ece.utexas.edu) Graduate Student in Software Engineering
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index