To be very cross that school's incompetence may have made DS ill?

[user1498726699]

DS's year had a mini sports day on Tuesday. Parents were invited to spectate in the afternoon so DH and I went along. I noticed that drinks were not brought outside for DC (which has happened before so I had brought one with me) so tried to get DS to drink the bottle of water I brought but he was worried he would get told off so only took a few sips. This was a 2 hour event with no breaks. It wasn't hot but very overcast and sweaty. DS's hair was soaking. I went to the shop and left DH to wait for DS to come out afterwards.

On the way home with DH, DS said that noise/talking was annoying him as his brain hurt. DH put it down to lots of jumping around, gave him a drink/snack and told DS to lay down for a rest. He took himself off to bed and conked out very uncharacteristically! I woke him later as I was worried and he was very upset that his 'brain was hurting' and his body wouldn't work. He was clammy, and I realised that he was probably dehydrated. He then told us that he had not had a chance to drink his breaktime drink as some of the DC were chosen to practice for the afternoon event so he had spent most of the morning running around too. I asked if they were offered water and he said no. The only drink they were offered was after the afternoon event just before hometime when they were told to have a drink after they got changed. So DS did almost 4 hours of quite vigorous exercise with only his breakfast juice at home, a small cup of water at lunchtime, and a few gulps of water from the bottle I took with me.

DCs are only 6/7. Surely it is irresponsible of the school to not make sure small DC are hydrated during sports events in June?

I had to spend Tuesday night trying to get Dioralyte down DS (big battle as he hates it) and he had a high temp for most of yesterday with headache and lethargy so was off school. He is recovered today and has gone to school with a note that consideration should be given to this at future sports events.

AIBU to think this could have been preventable?

And I further suspect that the more actual proper physiology we tell her, the more strongly she will cling to her erroneous beliefs. That seems to be how these things work.

No. It won't make any difference. She firmly believes that water passes straight through you - no gut absorption, just straight through to the kidneys. There must be a little channel that no one has ever ever found.

But where does she think the body gets all the water that's inside it from??

Usernumber can you enlighten us?

There are indeed lots of electrolytes dissolved in the body water. The body regulates the levels of these solutes ie the Osmolality of the body fluid very tightly. When the electrolyte levels are too high, thirst is triggered and we add water to dilute the body water and correct the electrolyte levels. If the body water is too dilute the kidneys excrete more water than electrolytes to correct the levels.

This type of thirst is uncommon in sweaty children! it is more likely they have lowering levels of body fluid; fluid, which cannot be replaced by water, and if you try it will be excreted out, so it doesn't explode your blood cells, and if you drink too much, you can't excrete it out fast enough, and will be in danger.

It mostly is harmless, and can be better than nothing, but is never the best drink for sweating children, and can be dangerous.

The point is, the OPs boy will haveprobably been fine without it, and not much better of with it, if he wasn't. He should have been offered squash

You don't seem to be able to decide if it's tap water specifically that's the problem, or mineral water, or all water.

It is water.

You keep flip flopping.

No I don't , but if you can't understnd my posts, then you can easily just go and look it up for yourself. Try any reputable source on sports coaching for children.

Cavemen didn't drink chlorinated tap water no, but they certainly drank plenty of water from streams and things like that, and that is literally what bottled mineral water is

absolutely no it isn't, bottled water is just tap water sold in a bottle..... at a huge cost to the environment..

Cave men water sources had a lower water potential, as I have tried to explain, because it hadn't been "purified" at all. Prehistoric societies also are beleived to have drunk far far less, maybe only a quarter of modern fads, or maybe even less.

Can you please provide the reputable source where you are getting the information from that water needs to be excreted out "so it doesn't explode your blood cells?"

Just wanted to point out this is the UK not Africa. At worst this is mildly dehydrated, not great but will happen. Yet a child dies because of poor water every 6 seconds.

You're proposing a theory that's not in keeping with cellular physiology as it's being taught today, or indeed as renal physiologists understand it, so your exploding water theory is very interesting, to say the least.

Can you please provide the reputable source where you are getting the information from that water needs to be excreted out "so it doesn't explode your blood cells?"

any basic A level biology text book

And how do these "exploding" blood cells show up on a blood film? After increased red cell breakdown due to haemolytic conditions there are discernible lab changes - what changes occur with a water drinker whose red cells have exploded?

Just wanted to point out this is the UK not Africa. At worst this is mildly dehydrated, not great but will happen. Yet a child dies because of poor water every 6 seconds.

absolutely.

Just imagine if all the money wasted on bottled water in this country was instead donated to provide clean water world wide.

"Any a level biology book".

I'm guessing maybe biology didn't go so well for you?

I suspect you're referring to the hyponateaemia that can occur when people who are at physiological extremes or have kidney or hormonal conditions drink excess water. It doesn't explode red blood cells though.

Maybe you could find me an online reference re exploding red cells after drinking water?

*hyponatraemia

I'm guessing maybe biology didn't go so well for you?

well, I teach it, and coach students for Oxbridge applications in it, so no, I would say it went very well indeed for me.

Sorry, not had chance to read the thread but when my DC were primary age, they had a sports day in blaring sunshine.. sports field was across road around 400 metres from the school.

Head teacher decided water bottles should not be taken to field.

Children were asking for a drink but were told 'later'. Teachers were told to disallow parents from giving their DCs a drink as 'not fair on those who didn't have parents there'.

Many offers from parents to go and get water bottles from school.. after an hour, head stopped the sports day in a rage and made all pupils (many crying) go back to school..

True story so I can imagine OPs situation very well.

"Well I teach it".

Then you should - coming full circle - to be able to explain what happens physiologically, at cellular level, when a 30kg boy with a normal - renin angiotensin system drinks 200ml of tap water.

Well I teach it, and coach students for Oxbridge applications in it...

If true, this is by far the most shocking of all the things you've said. But it cannot possibly be true.

It is more likely they have lowering levels of body fluid; which cannot be replaced by water, and if you try it will be excreted out, so it doesn't explode your blood cells.

Well what on earth do you think it should be replaced with then?? Of course you replace water with water! You would have to drink more than 1L an hour for a sustained period to become hyponatraemic, and even then the problems the body has would relate to cerebral oedema and cardiac arrythmia, not "exploding blood cells".

Cavemen water sources had a lower water potential

This is a meaningless statement.

Clue : there's no direct shunt from the gut to the kidneys in the human body

This thread is brilliant. I didn't realise when userwhatever mentioned squash that she was a certified loon!

So drinking water = exploding blood cells, drinking squash = intact blood cells

Does anyone else have the urge to go and drink a glass of water to see if they can feel fireworks in their veins??

Wombling I had a drink of dreaded tap water just now. My erythrocytes must be erupting and my corpuscles cracking as I sit here typing

This is a meaningless statement.

you not understanding what it means does not make it a meaningless statement

He should have been offered squash

You have a hatered of the bottled water companies, which I do understand and to a degree agree with. However after your insistence that squash has some kind of magical property I'm starting to wonder than you don't work for the marketing arm of Robinsons.

Well done for not being scared off when two people who clearly know their shit like Gin and Nolonger turn up. You keep plugging away with your bullshit science. If you teach biology then do you have some A level books which say that water makes blood cells explode about the place. Can you photograph the passage and post it?

I find the idea of squash making s previously 'toxic' liquid into a perfectly safe one very similar to homeopathy. Where do you stand on that?

Also, you started by saying that the problem was tap water and it's added toxins and now you are saying it's all water. So even if I went and drank the water from my village well which is filtered through the chalk hills that would be a problem too.

What did prehistoric man drink then if it wasn't rain, spring or river water? And moreover can you link to any research?

You not understanding what it means does not make it a meaningless statement

Ok let me clarify: it's a meaningless statement in the context of the current discussion.

You understand nothing about human physiology.

When haematologists report blood films and note haemolysis they often provide quite helpful comments, like "Increased red cell fragmentation is likely secondary to the patient's known history of hereditary spherocytosis".

Funny how I've never seen - "Film changes suggestive of increased red cell turnover. Suggest detailed history as to patient's history of drinking water".

I remember user under another user name when she was supposedly a special needs teacher.