I'm sick..........

[jade]

Does anyone else experience slight nausea and headache while on or after a long or more strenuous hike?
I typically begin an outing with ibuprofen, not for muscle/joint aches and pains but to stave off nausea and headaches. I get plenty of rest the night before and have a good dinner and breakfast prior to the hike. I munch throughout, have a good lunch, drink plenty from my camelback and stretch at all breaks.
I did an AIDS ride a few years back. The first two days were century rides, the last day was shorter. I felt fine on the longer days but at the end I was sick--vomitting with a splitting headache.
Yesterday I did the Tully Trail--18 miles of mostly rolling hills with some steeper sections--and felt a bit sick at the end. Cantdog experienced a headache too. There's about a 12 year age diffenece between us so I don't think age is a factor. I feel fine today--no need for ibuprofen.

Anyone have any feedback? Thanks........Jade

PS Dugan is a woman and will put together a trip report later.....Thanks Dugan!!!!

 

[percious]

I believe what you are experienced is either fatigue induced or dehydration induced. I often find myself getting nausea during particularly intense work-outs. I think the best way to avoid this is just to work up to a higher level of intensity slowly. Weekend-warioring is not always the best way to do this. Maybe running a mile or two every other day would help. Vary your intensity (fast running vs. jogging) so your body gets used to the abuse.

Although you may be getting enough water, your body may not be able to absorb it all. Are you urinating a lot? If so, you probably don't have the salt necessary to absorb the water you are putting in. Gatorade helps with this, but you can also try things like beef jerky, summer sausage, cheese... etc. Sodium is good for absorbtion. You may also want to try eating foods like bananas, which are full of potasium, which helps stave off fatigue.

The same thing happened to my buddy when I pushed him a little too hard on the whack up Marcy from Gray. When we got down to 4 corners, he was bushed (telltale headache and nausea). After he ate a bunch, and drank some water, we were able to hike out, and he was feeling better when we got moving. We skipped Skylight that day. I might note that he DID NOT want to eat, but I kind of forced him to, and he felt better after a bit.

Just my 3 cents.

-percious

 

[Papa Bear]

Dehydration or loss of salt could definately be a factor. Drink plenty of water and eat those salty peanuts.

Pb

 

[Bushwacked]

Electrolytes and sodium. I race bikes, so I'm very aware of hydration. It strikes me as odd that given the demands of a hard hike, more hikers don't use a sports drink supplement while on the trail. Cytomax, Gatorade (packets), etc. will go a long way to helping stave off the headache. A headache is a pretty sure sign you don't have enought electolyte/sodium replacement.

Another supplement to try, when you're really feeling sh!te, is Emergen-C. Very good for getting one last hour of energy.

These supplements are pretty light so it makes sense to drink at least 1 bottle of a supplement a day.

 

[poison ivy]

Jade -- I have a major problems with headaches and nausea while hiking. I've tried to keep track of the hikes when I get them in an attemp to find a cause. For me, I think I overheat really easily since I tend to get them on really humid or sunny days when I'm hiking a tough trail. It's not just hydration in my case-- I've been on hikes where I've way over-hydrated (drank 3X the amount of water as everyone else did) and have still had them.

I've experimented with about everything under the sun to prevent them -- but I haven't found anything totally successful. I drink one bottle of Gatorade at the beginning of the hike, which helps a bit, and just pop the Advil as soon as I feel a headache coming on.

It's one of the reasons I really look forward to winter -- it's the only time I can take for granted I'll be hiking headache free.

-- Ivy

PS: I hope the Tully Trail trip went excellent! I was bummed not to be able to join you guys.

 

[alpinista]

Jade -- I've experienced similar symptoms -- though mostly nausea and not the headaches, thankfully. For me, it tends to be when I'm overheating and/or fear about a particular trail. I just push through it, occasionally do the dry heave or vomiting thing , and then move on. I find that if I keep going, even if it's a slow pace, it eventually passes.

 

[JohnL]

Sounds to me like you are suffering symptoms from dehydration. I’m not sure what effect, if any, the ibuprofen has at the beginning of the hike if your symptoms occur at the end of a hike. Also two of the more common side effects of ibuprofen are headache and nausea.

Check out this for ibuprofen symptoms and here for information on dehydration and hyponatremia.

JohnL

 

[SherpaKroto]

One other thought: if you drink a lot of caffeinated beverages and stop suddenly, that also can cause the same results.

 

[bobandgeri]

Even too warm or humid of a room the night before while you are sleeping can bring on headaches and migraines. As can overheating, being dehydrated, etc...

I suffered for years before I started taking "feverfew " as a preventive. Although it doesn't prevent them 100% it has decreased them to only 1 or so a month. I also take imitrex after I have a migraine which works wonderfully.

Yesterday I woke with a slight hedache that wouldn't go away - made it through the hike okay but it got progressively worse all day until I took an imitrex. I blames yesterday's to the humid stuffy room I slept in Sat night.

 

[jade]

Thanks for your feedback everyone and I welcome others who have advice to offer.......

At least I am not alone in my slight and temporary misery......I used to carry a few packs of Emergen-C in my pack, I think I need to use it again. There are more 'natural' drinks similar to Gatorade that I have tried, guess I would be wise to make it a habit even if it means carrying an extra bottle (my dog drinks out of my camelback) or two of electrolytes. Adding salt via peanuts will be something I will try as well.......I always drink plenty of water, on and off the trails.

I walk/hike fast paced 3-4 miles a day 5-6 times a week and work on my 4000 footers twice a month, think I'm in decent shape......

SherpaK--I may be sick but I am NOT crazy. I am clean as a whistle as far as my diet goes (no drink, drug, smoke or meat) but I will NEVER give up my strong French Roast coffee!!

PI--I was sorry that you weren't able to join us--it was a LONG fun day....

 

[VFTTop'r]

Jade,

I often get slight headaches but only at the end of a hike. I do drink plenty of water and sometimes Gatorade as well. I just pop a couple pain relievers and it takes care of the problem.

I wonder if it could be elevation change related????

 

[alpinista]

Skimom -- I suffer from the same problem with low blood sugar. Surprisingly, I have never had a problem with it when I've been hiking though. My suspicion has always been that the adrenalin somehow keeps those symptoms at bay. When they hit, it's the most horrible feeling I have -- spacey, breaking out in a sweat, feeling like I'm gonna faint, can't think straight. But when I'm in the valley or not "active," it hits me like a ton of bricks. I often have to borrow a sugar pill a week from my diabetic colleague if I'm not able to get out of the office in time to get something to bring up my blood sugar levels. Ain't it the worst feeling?

 

[percious]

Sun Poisoning

I just realized one other thing. Your symptoms are also those of sun poisoning.

"The intensity of UV rays increases four percent for every 1,000-foot increase in elevation."
source

so thats 16 percent more sun at 4K.

Maybe if you try out some sun glasses it would help. Just a thought.

-percious

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

I met two women this fall, 1 on Guyot and 1 on Moosilauke, complaining of vomiting and headaches. Interestingly both women had run out of water.

 

[mavs00]

Jade,

You've gotten pretty good advice so far, and I'd say that likely it's a combination of several of the things listed, primarily dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. It can be pretty typical for a PROLONGED bout of physical exertion that is either longer in duration or higher in intensity than what the body is used to.

I don't suffer from nausea, but will get occasionally get headaches on hikes (of over 8 hours) that I'm pushing a little harder than usual. I also notice it on occasion when go on really long runs (over 90 minutes) or rides (over 2.5 hours). I find they generally go away within a few hours of stopping.

My wife gets them too, even more frequently than me I might add. I don't think it's too much to worry about with minor headaches, but be a little more cautious if you actually are "getting sick", as that's a really fast way for dehydration or electrolyte issues to get out of control.

If it gets real bad, try easing on the pace or otherwise lessening the intensity (i.e. elevated heart rate) for a bit.

 

[woodstrider]

Yeah, all these replys sound good..

I usually get these symptoms when I get overheated.

But, do you have other contributing conditions? I would advise you to check it out with your Doctor.

Happy Trails

 

[Jim lombard]

From Percious

The intensity of UV rays increases four percent for every 1,000-foot increase in elevation

On Kilimanjaro many people had these problems especially on the second day when we hiked above treeline completely in the sun. I wore a big hat and drank about 3 liters of water and had no problems. UV was incredible up there. Most seemed to recover the next day just fine. One woman we saw never recovered during the hike and was forced to turn back.

 

[jade]

This past weekend I did N&S Kinsman. I diluted my water with 'Recharge' a more natural product similar to Gatorade. The stuff is still a bit sickeningly sweet for me but I really noticed a difference by the end of the day--no headache or nausea. I actually felt more energized and awake for the ride home. Ha--who knew it would work so well?

 

[LittleBear]

Smart Water

Try Smart Water instead of Gatorade. Smart Water contains the electrolytes found in Gatorade (and other sports drinks) but without any sugars or flavorings. It costs about the same as Gatorade. It was a bit difficult for me to fork over that kind of money for "water" but then again, it's not regular water. I love it!

 

[scree flinger]

My Opinion

Due to the fact we live in a polluted environment and consume tained food, tainted water and breath pollluted air, our bodies pick up an absorb numerous toxins, epecialy as we age. These are stored in our bones, fat tissue, organs and digetstive systems. When an individul is exposed to vigerous exercise these poisons are purged from our bodies via the 5 channels of elimination: Bowels, kidneys, skin, lungs & lymph system. They are transferd via the bloodstream. While this explosion of pollutents is being released, numerous symptoms can occour such as what people here have mentioned to them.

My answer is to visit your local health for store and utilize a detox program to gently purge these out of your body. I have used a product called Nature's Secrect with great results. They are many products out there that will work quite well and do not require any extreme measures, such as not eating or fasting.

I feel that your throwing your money away on high tech flavored water or gaterade. I have found them to be useless.