[bullfrog]

Here's a link to the story of a recent rescue on the PCT detour near Lake Chelan. An older hiker went into diabetic shock and they constructed an improvised stretcher out of two small trees, hiking poles and bear-bagging rope--some nifty pictures of this included. The guy is OK and it took a real team effort to get him out. PCTA-Carrying Jim off the trail

[neek]

Great story. Reminder to not always assume everything's ok. Wonder what his blood sugar was.

[Mikey]

Nice ending to a chilled hiker. Note that Tyrosine has been found to warm hypothermia victims. Probably having about 20 500 mg capsules in your First Aid kit is worth considering. Humans synthesize tyrosine from the essential amino acid phenyalanine, which is derived from food. Tyrosine’s importance is in tyrosine’s function as a nutritional ingredient for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, and Dopamine. Thyrosine is also needed to produce a number of important hormones including thyroxin, which has an important role in regulating the metabolism, skin health, mental health, and human growth rate. Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Dec 2017 Volume 28, Issue 4, Page 366 “Oral L-Tyrosine Supplementation Improved Core Temperature Maintenance to Whole-Body Cold Exposure in Older Adults” James Lang Moines University, Des Moines, IA, USA During cold exposure, an immediate and sustained increase in sympathetic nerve activity evokes VasoConstriction (VC) of cutaneous blood vessels to minimize heat loss and maintain body core temperature. In older adults, this reflex VasoConstriction (VC) response is impaired, thereby increasing their susceptibility to excess heat loss and hypothermia. This may be explained in part by reduced bioavailability of the amino acid substrate, L-Tyrosine, for catecholamine production. Catecholamines are hormones made by the adrenal glands. The 3 catecholamines are epinephrine (adrenalin), norepinephrine, and dopamine. Research Methods In a randomized, double-blind design, 8 older participants (aged 68±4 years) ingested either 150 mg/kg of L-Tyrosine (68.089 mg/lb) or placebo before commencing 90 minutes of whole-body cooling to decrease skin temperature to ~30°C. Esophageal Temperature (TES) and forearm laser Doppler flux was measured continuously throughout the protocol to provide an index of core temperature and skin blood flow, respectively. Cutaneous Vascular Conductance (CVC) was calculated as CVC = laser Doppler flux / mean arterial pressure and expressed as a percent change from baseline (%ΔCVC). The change in Esophageal Temperature (ΔTES) was the difference in temperature at the end of cooling subtracted from baseline. Results: Oral tyrosine supplementation improved the reflex cutaneous VasoConstriction (VC) response to cooling in older adults (placebo = 15.0±0.9, tyrosine = 29.6±0.7 %ΔCVC; P < .05). Additionally, Tyrosine maintained body core temperature throughout cooling (placebo = –0.31oC, Tyrosine = –0.09 oC Esophageal Temperature (ΔTES). Conclusions These results indicate that L-Tyrosine supplementation may improve thermoregulatory function in response to acute cold exposure in an older population.

[fourteen410]

[schifferj]

I just did a search an L-Tyrosine is OTC. I plan to add a handful to my first aid kit. While not diabetic I am a senior citizen and I was not aware of this. What an amazing job by the rescuers! My hat is off to them. While I was a practicing paramedic our protocols dictated treatment for blood gllucose below 60mg/dl. We almost never attempted treatment with oral glucose as it was a slow, laborious process. While I've seen people with blood glucose in the 20's who were still cognizant most times a level below 60 resulted in significant decrease in mentation.

[Joey]

Happy trails to all who lent a hand to a stranger in need.

[Noheaperture]

Incredible! I wonder if they had to lift him down the hikers route at cloudy pass on the pct reroute? That’s no easy task carrying a body up that section.