Correction: An earlier version of this article didn't clearly state that Adam fell after losing consciousness from drinking water. It was the fall that caused his injuries, not the water itself.
It's only the beginning of July and plenty of us are already tired of this heat.
Although warm weather is nice, the scorching heat is not, and it's imperative to keep yourself hydrated.
One man from Houston, Texas knows this to be true, but is also warning the public about the dangers of drinking cold water in a short amount of time.
On July 3, Adam Schaub was cutting up logs with his father when he began to turn red and decided he needed to cool down. He went into his father's air-conditioned truck and chugged two cold bottles of water, but then began to feel ill.
"Honestly at the time I just felt like I had maybe worked a bit to hard sawing up trees and that I was sweating profusely from it," Schaub said. "I had drank water earlier but apparently not enough to keep from getting myself sick."
"It was odd because after chugging both bottles of water my head went a bit foggy and I felt confused. I was sitting in my dad's truck when it got real bad though," the father of three continued. "My hands and feet were tingling heavily as it they had just fallen asleep and my stomach was turning."
In the truck Adam became incredibly nauseous. Not wanting to dirty his dad's truck he opened the door. He passed out, hitting his face on the pavement. His father had to wipe the blood out of his eyes. Adam broke his nose and busted his lip, but won't have lasting damage.
"He thought it might have been much more severe because he didn't know where the blood was from," Schaub said. "I heard him talking in the background but much of it felt like a muffled dream."
Luckily, everything turned out fine and Schaub didn't have to go to the hospital.
"By the time [the EMTs] got there I was feeling much better. The guy helped me up and we talked for a bit about it," he said. "They wanted to take me in but honestly I just wanted to head home to see my son and fiance."
According to Dr. Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical director of Patient.info, when you drink cold water too fast, you'll likely feel sudden pain and lightheaded.
"If you drink something very cold, very quickly, the cold on the roof of your mouth stimulates the nerves around there," Jarvis explained. "That in turn leads to rapid contraction, then expanding of the tiny blood vessels in your sinuses."
"The brain interrupts the messages from these nerves as coming from your forehead, because the same nerve supplies your forehead," she added.
Schaub's Facebook post has been shared more than 650,000 times and he hopes to reach as many people as he can during the summer heat.
"You can lose consciousness. He said cold water is good, but only in sips. Room temperature water is better if you need fast rehydration," he concluded.
"Just figured I would share in case anyone could benefit from my mishap. Summer's just around the corner. Stay cool. Feel free to share if you think it could help someone. I wish I had learned this a long time ago."
This summer is going to be a hot one, so make sure you and your loved ones are prepared for the warmer weather:
- 7 Health Conditions That Get Even Worse In The Summer
- The 3 Steps You Must Follow To Rescue A Dog In A Hot Car
- Don't Ignore These Warning Signs This Summer, They Could Mean Heatstroke
[H/T: Daily Mirror]
