(c) When water supplies are restricted, salt in excess of that normally
present in food is contraindicated. When food intake is restricted or voluntarily limited,
as it may be during the first few days of heat exposure, personnel must take salt by
other means in conjunction with a balanced water intake.
(3) A convenient way to provide adequate salt to large numbers of
personnel is to salt all drinking water to a concentration of 0.1 percent. The method is
as follows:
(a) One pound table salt to 100 gallons of water.
(b) 0.3 pound table salt to the Lyster bag (36 gallons).
(c) One-fourth teaspoonful table salt (or if available, two, ten gram salt
tablets) to each quart of water.
NOTE:
Plain salt tablets contain cornstarch as a disintegrating agent. The plain salt
tablet should not be ingested directly since it disintegrates within two minutes,
and salt in concentrated form is not readily absorbed and may cause
gastrointestinal disturbance.
(4) Avoid excess intake of salt in the form of salt tablets because salt
excess may increase thirst and cause intestinal disturbances. Salt tablets have a
membranous structure which prolongs disintegration so that about half the tablet is
dissolved after 45 minutes and the rest over a total period of three hours. Accordingly,
one impregnated salt tablet provides a more or less even availability of ten grains of
absorbable salt over a three hour period. More than one salt tablet in three hours, as
stated above, could increase an individual's thirst and also cause intestinal
disturbances.
c. Acclimatization.
(1) Training programs. Training programs for personnel who are climatically
and/or physically unseasoned to heat should be limited in intensity and time. Allow a
period of approximately two weeks with progressive degrees of heat exposure and
physical exertion; this will allow for substantial acclimatization (about 78 percent). A
period of acclimatization is necessary regardless of the individual's physical condition;
although the better the physical condition, the quicker acclimatization is completed. If
individuals are required to perform heavy physical work before being properly
acclimatized, the work is done poorly, development of the capacity to work effectively is
retarded, and the risk of heat injury and disability is high.
MD0587
4-19