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From the Quad War Chirurgeon / Water Bearer in Charge

Unto the Gentles and Nobles attending Quad War does Baron James Douglas, Quad War Chirurgeon & Water Bearer in Charge, send his most humble and healthy Greetings.

The Chirurgeonate

 

During this Quad War, there will be Chirurgeons available to assist Gentles with any unexpected medical situations that may arise but the populace needs to be fully aware of what Chirurgeons can and cannot do.

• The purpose of the Chirurgeonate is to render immediate aid in the event of an emergency situation. Should the situation require more than just a bandage or an ice pack, you may be advised to seek additional medical advice or care from a professional health care provider.

 

A list (and hopefully a map) of local Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy services should be posted at Main Gate for your information. Out of Province attendees should carry some form of travel insurance as certain services normally covered by their Provincial Health Insurance while at home may not be eligible for payment in Saskatchewan.

• Please remember that Quad War is scheduled opposite a major Country Music festival that is also being held in the area. Local resources may find themselves sold out of essential items (e.g.: sunscreen, non-prescription drugs, bug spray, feminine hygiene products, etc.) before the weekend is over. I respectfully suggest you stock up on supplies before you start packing for Quad War.

 

• While a small supply of “Over The Counter” essentials are often available at Chirurgeon’s Point, it is not a Pharmacy and the items in question were likely paid for by the Chirurgeon himself/herself. Every camping group should bring a basic First Aid kit that also contains any special supplies specific to people in the group (e.g: painkillers for the headache prone, antacids for people with delicate stomachs, etc.).

• Minors cannot be treated for non life-threatening injuries unless a parent or Court-appointed Legal Guardian is physically present at the time and gives the Chirurgeon informed consent for treatment.

 

• No matter what medical qualifications a Chirurgeon may hold in the modern world, while acting as a Chirurgeon we are restricted to providing Basic or Emergency First Aid as defined by either the Canadian Red Cross Society or the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade.

In the event of a life-threatening or serious injury situation, we will of course render aid to the best of our ability and training but our ultimate goal will be to stabilize and comfort you until EMS arrives. We will NOT be splinting broken limbs so that you can stay and enjoy the rest of the event, no matter how many times you promise to go see a doctor the minute you get home!

• Chirurgeons are neither qualified, nor authorized to treat ongoing or recurring illnesses or to provide care for pre-existing or post-operative conditions that you bring to Quad War with you. If you have a medical condition that you can’t care for yourself and you don’t have a camp mate willing and able to care for you… you might wish to re-evaluate your plans to attend this event.

 

• Gentles with self-managed chronic health issues (such as Diabetes, Severe Allergies, Migraines, or Epilepsy) should consult their personal health care provider prior to Quad War to ensure that they have sufficient prescription medications on hand and that planned activities are not contrary to their care plan.

While you are by no means required to do so, Gentles with chronic conditions that might render them unable to explain what is wrong during an emergency (such as insulin shock, anaphylaxis, or a seizure) can choose to complete an Emergency Medical Information Form that will be kept in the strictest of confidence and then be destroyed (or returned to you) at the end of the event.

• Medical Alert bracelets may not look very period but they can save your life. If you have an Epi-Pen, please carry it with you and make sure somebody in your party knows which belt pouch it’s in, under what conditions it might be used, and how to actually use it.

 

• The most important thing to remember… Chirurgeons are volunteers and so are you! If you are not comfortable with having a Chirurgeon tend to you, say “No Thank You” and we will let you be. If you’d like to apply your own bandage but you don’t happen have one handy at the moment, ask and it will probably be provided with a smile. You are, after all, a responsible adult.

Contrary to common misconception, the Good Samaritan Act does NOT obligate an unpaid medic to help you in the event of an emergency. It only obligates them, should they choose to render aid, to act in a reasonable and responsible manner and to stay within the limits of any medical skills in which they are currently trained. I can’t stress this strongly enough: You are within your legal rights to say “No Thank You” if you don’t want assistance.

Of course, every rule has an exception: If you are unconscious or injured to the point where you can no longer communicate and there is nobody present that is legally empowered to speak on your behalf, the legal presumption of “implied consent for medical care” comes into effect and anybody can render the appropriate First Aid (until you are conscious enough to be able to say “No Thank You” of course).

 

Water Bearing

Because of the lack of a potable water source at Quad War, organizers will be bringing in a Water Truck to ensure that safe drinking water (and Gatorade) can be made available during scheduled martial activities. All Gentles are again reminded that this is a public health & wellness courtesy service and ultimately, you are responsible for bringing your own drinking water with you to Quad War.

Keep the following things in mind when you decide how much water you need to bring with you:

• Health Canada suggests consuming at least 8 glasses of 8 ounces of water per day (64 Ounces / 1.9 Litres) under normal indoor temperature and activity conditions.

 

• A 175 Lb person engaged in an “exercise like activity” (such as armoured combat) for 60 minutes in a “warm environment” requires at least 110 Ounces / 3.3 Litres of water per day.

• A 210 Lb person (armour can add a lot of weight) engaged in “exercise like activity” for that same 60 minutes but in a “hot and dry environment” (such as on a grass field in August) requires at least 149 Ounces / 4.4 Litres of water per day.

 

• These amounts (consumed regularly over the course of a day) are the minimum amounts required for a body to stay healthy on a day with only a single hour of “exercise like activity”. Additionally, these recommended amounts do not account for activities such as cooking. Preparing a pot of boiled pasta or potatoes to serve four people can consume 3 litres of your potable water supply.

• Now, think about fighting under the August sun most of the day (for several days in a row) and then going back to camp to cook and eat dinner. How much water are YOU going to pack for Quad War?

 

According to Certified Exercise Physiologist Richard Weil, the effects of dehydration on an exercising athlete can be profound:

• A 1% to 2% reduction of body weight due to water loss (that’s the equivalent of a 150 Lb person shedding just 3 cups of water due to sweating and/or urination) begins to compromise cardiovascular strength, body temperature regulation, muscular function, and can lead to a decrease in aerobic power. Your heart rate may rise an additional three to five beats per minute for every 1% of body weight loss.

 

• Muscle endurance and maximum aerobic power decrease when 3% to 4% of body weight is lost. Water loss of only slightly more than 2% of body weight can result in as much as a 35% to 48% reduction in physical work capacity.

• Dehydration of greater than 3% of total body weight increases the risk of developing an exertion heat illness such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke. Heat illness is common in sports and can occur after just one single hour of intense exercise in the heat.

 

The National Athletic Trainers' Association recommends the following hydration guidelines for exercise:

• Two to three hours pre-exercise: 17 to 20 fluid ounces of water or hydrating sports drink. Ten to 20 minutes pre-exercise: 7 to 10 ounces of water or hydrating sports drink.

 

• During exercise, fluid replacement should approximate sweat and urine losses and at least maintain hydration at less than 2% body weight reduction. This generally requires 7 to 10 ounces of water or hydrating sports drink every 10 to 20 minutes. Include carbohydrates in the beverage if the exercise is intense or lasts more then 45-50 minutes. Water alone will suffice, and save calories, if the exercise is moderate or less than 45-50 minutes.

• Post-exercise: Athletes should gauge how much weight was lost from sweat and urination and ingest fluid equal to 150% of the weight loss, ideally within two hours, and no more than four to six hours after the event. Including sodium in the drink allows fluid volume to be better conserved and increases the drive to drink, and carbohydrate in the drink will improve the rate of intestinal absorption of the fluid as well as replenish glycogen stores in the muscles and liver.

 

• The volume of fluid in the stomach is critically important for proper hydration. Maintaining 12 to 20 ounces of fluid in the stomach will optimize gastric emptying and prevent dehydration. Concentrations of 4% to 8% of carbohydrates should be used if they are included in the fluid. Concentrations higher than 8% slow the rate of fluid absorption and can actually speed dehydration, while 6% to 8% concentrations are optimal for hydration and performance.

• Effective hydrating sport drinks include Gatorade and similar non-carbonated, non-caffeine energy drinks prepared no stronger than the manufacturers stated “Water : Concentrate” ratio. ‘Hyper Wake Up Super Energy’ drinks (even the ones containing real fruit juice) are the last things you should drink.

 

• Finally… there is such a thing as drinking too much water. Hyponatremia is an electrolyte disorder where not enough sodium is present in the body fluids outside the cells. As a result, water enters cells to balance the concentration of salt outside the cells and the cells swell as a result of the excess water.

Most cells can accommodate the swelling, but brain cells cannot because the skull confines them and this can, understandably, lead to potentially serious complications. The rule of thumb is to ingest enough water or hydrating sports drink (experts suggest you should alternate them both equally) to balance what you’ve lost due to sweat or urination (one litre of drink in for every kilogram of weight you lose).

Everybody (not just people involved in strenuous martial activities) should keep the following things in mind as you go through their day at Quad War:
 

• Drink your water in small amounts on a regular basis over your entire day. By the time your body tells you that it’s thirsty, it’s already responding to the onset of dehydration.

• Dehydration symptoms may include: physical weakness or a sense of being light-headed (especially if it increases on standing), dry or cotton mouth, drying out of eyes or tear ducts, darkening of the urine or a decrease in amount or frequency of urination, or skin that loses it’s natural ‘sponginess’ (i.e.: it fails to quickly spring back to shape and return to it’s normal colour after you pinch it).

 

• Severe dehydration leads to changes in the body's chemistry and can become life threatening in the event of kidney failure. Only a medical professional can properly diagnose clinical dehydration.

• Maintain balance in all you do… for every alcohol or caffeine based that drink you consume, you should match it with an equal amount of water and be sure to drink the water within an hour of the beverage.

 

Proper sanitation (of both your own person and the camp as a whole) is essential to helping ensure that everybody has a healthy weekend. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Wash your hands properly before and after using the facilities and before engaging in any food or beverage preparation activities.

 

• If proper soap and water is not available, use a waterless hand sanitizer (preferably of the non-alcohol based variety) according to the manufacturers directions.

• The Water Bearing Team will be providing hand sanitizer at all of the Water Bearing stations. Please use it before you help yourself to the water and snacks that have been provided for you.

 

• Deal with your in camp garbage before it hits the ground. Every camp will have been given a garbage bag when they arrived at Gate and additional bags will be available over the rest of the weekend.

• There will be garbage bags near the Water Bearing stations while they are open for business. If you are planning a group activity on the battlefield after hours, please bring a garbage bag with you and use it.

 

• Always close the seat lids when done in the Port-a-Johns, this helps keep the flies away and allows odours to travel out the roof vent rather than gathering inside the structure itself. If you accidentally make a mess, do your best to leave it clean for the next Gentle.

• In the event you find a Port-a-John in unusable condition or out of supplies, please advise the Gate so it can be properly dealt with. Volunteers are always needed for this thankless but very essential service.

 

A Note On The Future Of Water Bearing

 

The SCA, Inc. Board of Directors has recently announced that they are to considering a change to the wording of Corpora that would make Water Bearing an unofficial, unsanctioned, and unwarranted volunteer activity. This is in response to concerns that Water Bearing is not always done to the legal minimum standards required by the Health Department and that this could expose the SCA, Inc. to legal repercussions.

By the time Quad War happens, the Water Bearing Team will have taken steps to ensure that the service provided meets or exceeds local Health Department regulations. At the time of this writing we are not 100% sure what that will mean but it will probably involve disposable single serve containers for the water and snack service.

Please do your part to maintain a hygienic environment by making sure your hands are clean before touching the pour spout on the water cooler and make sure your cup (be it disposable or your favourite camping goblet) never touches the pour spout of the water cooler when you fill it. Please also help control litter by properly disposing of the supplied paper cups in the garbage bags provided on site.

On a personal note, I am actively involved in working to persuade the SCA, Inc. Board of Directors that rather than eliminating Water Bearing from Corpora as a sanctioned SCA activity, we should instead hold those who seek status as Warranted Water Bearers to a higher standard.

Specifically, the standard defined by the local Health Authority that’s responsible for the geographic region in which they are Water Bearing in the SCA. Preliminary research has shown me that in many regions, this could be accomplished by simply getting a Food Safe certificate (about $50 and valid for 3 years) and using disposable drinking vessels instead of the old-fashioned plastic bottles and straws.

After Quad War is over, I invite everyone to visit www.waterbearing.com and fill out a survey letting me what you think about the way that Water Bearing at was handled this Quad War. If you want to learn more about my research into Water Bearing health & safety or to read about my ongoing discussions with the SCA BoD on this topic, visit me at http://waterbaron.blogspot.com. Polite feedback (even the negative kind) is always welcomed.