By: Mitch Jaugstetter

When you spend the whole day in the sun, from sunrise to sunset, it is easy to get dehydrated without realizing it.

Being in the hot sand and salty water at the beach is a lot of fun, but it’s even more important to make sure you stay hydrated.

Joshua Ellis, a local firefighter, and paramedic with over 10 years of experience says they run hundreds of heat related calls every year.

How do I stay hydrated at the beach?

“Have plenty of water readily available. Monitor the activity level of everyone in the group with extra attention given to children and ensure they are drinking water and staying cool,” said Ellis.

What symptoms should I watch out for?

“The symptoms can be very mild with a little dizziness upon standing up which resolves when seated or laying down, all the way up to severe altered mental status and death if not corrected.”

Who is most susceptible to dehydration? 

“The ones most susceptible to heat related issues are children, people consuming large amounts of alcohol and people with pre-existing medical issues. Because the beach is viewed as a vacation spot most people don’t think about the heat stresses that they may not be used to in their normal everyday life.”

But I don’t feel like I’m getting dehydrated? 

“When someone is going in and out of the gulf they don’t feel over heated but they are still sweating and losing fluid volume. This means that people can get to more significant levels of dehydration and not realize it in the earlier stages that they normally would.”

Grab one of these 40-oz stainless steel water bottles from 30A gear to help you stay hydrated while on the beach! Proceeds from this bottle go to South Walton Professional Fire Fighters Charitable Foundation, to help promote safety at our beaches.

Remember to stay hydrated in order to have a happy and healthy beach trip! Happy beachin’ it!

Mitch Jaugstetter is a Summer Intern at The 30A Company.