Mickelson - IV Drip - Opinions?

[nevets88]

You hear all the time how athletes use the ER to get a bag or two of saline into them. Does this seem excessive?

I understand that heat exhaustion can lead to more life threatening conditions and if the ER is empty, fine or if a sudden onslaught of critical patients come in, IV drip person can be moved, but something about this just seems off, or maybe I'm misinformed.

Any medical professionals out there? What do you think?

[misty_mountainhop]

Not sure about the specifics but some sort of drink would be in order I would think! It may have been hot but he was hardly running a marathon in those conditions.

[total consciousness]

phil just needs to lay off the meth.

[chaptowngolfteam]

I am an Athletic Trainer, and I know for a fact that a person will use 40-60 ounces of fluid per day just performing regular activities. So for walking a golf course that should equate to ~80-90 ounces of fluid. Now, consider the weather, florida is humid, therefore you sweat more. That means that Phil should have been consuming ~110-120 ounces of fluid. And not just during the day, but before the tournament, so he could have storage and be properly hydrated. If he only had 70-80 ounces of fluid, then that would lead to dehydration, and in this case heat exhaustion.

[David in FL]

I am an Athletic Trainer, and I know for a fact that a person will use 40-60 ounces of fluid per day just performing regular activities. So for walking a golf course that should equate to ~80-90 ounces of fluid. Now, consider the weather, florida is humid, therefore you sweat more. That means that Phil should have been consuming ~110-120 ounces of fluid. And not just during the day, but before the tournament, so he could have storage and be properly hydrated. If he only had 70-80 ounces of fluid, then that would lead to dehydration, and in this case heat exhaustion.

.....and when that happens, the quickest, most effective way to rehydrate is through IV liquid, not by drinking.

[Chas]

Steve, You have been seriously misinformed.
Charles.

[cstorms]

I have a friend in medical school who has been known to give his friends IVs when they are too hungover. If it was John Daly, then I would guess this was the case.

[IcemanYVR]

I came home from a business trip once so sick and dehydrated, that I was in a hospital for several hours, and went through 4 IV saline bags in just a few hours.

It's the fastest way to rehydrate someone and it's amazing the difference it makes in such a short amount of time. It takes the body way to long to metabolize the effects of drinking, and most of the drinks contain too much sugar for someone that dehydrated and I don't know too many people that would want to drink saline.

As for Phil, combine the heat, not drinking enough, and given his lack of physical conditioning, I'm not surprised. I think he played very well if that was the case.

[TommyD69]

Another reason Phil needed the IV instead of drinking was "hinted" at during the final round when Bones gave Phil a sandwich which he "took a huge bit of". When you get sick (my kids did this a couple times) you cannot hold down ANYTHING including liquid. The only alternative is the IV. It is amazing how quickly you bounce back once you get some liquid back in your body!

[uttexas]

If Phil, for whatever reason, couldn't maintain hydration by drinking fluids throughout the round, had signs of dehydration, and couldn't rehydrate orally, then I understand the IV. There are numberous NFL teams that give players IV fluids at half time or when they go to the locker room.

The problem I would have is the use of our overburdened ER system--and the relative expense of going to the ER for just IV fluids. The PGA tour should have staff available on the course to handle IV rehydration. If I understand you post correctly, you are suggesting that Phil went to an ER. If it were done mid-round, this might be considered a rules violation (I don't know for sure), but after the fourth and final round (and no playoff), I don't see any problem with a player getting IV fluids "on the course" in the medical truck/tent.

I suppose, players might be hesitant to utilize PGA medical fascilities to limit rumor spreading etc.

[Stacey_E]

I can personally attest that IV is the way to get hydrated in emergency situations. I still haven't heard why Phil couldn't keep food or liquids down though.

A few years ago, I got food poisoning. I woke up about 2 a.m. sick to my stomach. Within minutes the ordeal began. It was so bad I had to call my dad to take me to the E.R. We were both waiting for the doctor's office to open at 8ish, but about 6:00 I gave up and went on. It was rediculous how much fluid I was expelling (on both ends). Within 5 hours I had lost 5 pounds. I looked like a prize fighter where all the heaving had totally crunched my abs.

They shoved 2 liters of fluids and some pain killers in me in about an hour and a half. The doctor on call said that although it wasn't serious or life threatening, the dehydration could have been. Organs begin to shutdown and can be damaged once severe dehydration sets in. This is just what I was told. It was amazing how much better I felt whe I left the ER. I slept for 14 hours that day, got up for a couple hours had some pudding or soup or something like that, and went back to bed for the night.

[Chas]

About two years ago I played a round one very hot Sunday here in the San Diego area and stupidly forgot to take my usual large Gatorade with me. Maybe the drinks cart didn't show up or something because I didn't drink on the course either (dumb and dumber ....) and got really dehydrated. Drinking a lot later in the day didn't fully quench my thirst, you know how it is when that happens.

One or two days later, middle of the day, I dropped writhing to the floor of my office in excruciating pain. Ambulance took me to the ER as it got even worse (company policy to use an ambulance, I'd rather someone drive me since it would have been quicker .....) and it turned out to be a kidney stone, almost certainly precipitated by the dehydration. Two shots of i.v. morphine knocked me out (ahhhhhh) and I woke up feeling OK a couple hours later.

Make sure you drink your fluids on the course, esp. when it's hot and dry out there. Don't mess with this. Wouldn't want my experience to happen to a pro in the middle of a round, nosireebob. Most painful think I've ever felt, far and away .....

[Jay-Bird]

Phil is in top physical shape, this IV-drip for re-hydration story is just shocking.

My wife calls him 'man titties'.

Phil should be drinking the Tiger Gatorade.

[Chas]

If some sort of augmentation surgery would buy me a short game like his (or any aspect of his game .....), I'd be under the knife as fast as one of my bungled bunker shots dies in the desert .....

As for Tiger, he needs to be getting 90% of his calories from gelatin for the rest of his life .....

[Chief Broom]

The problem I would have is the use of our overburdened ER system--and the relative expense of going to the ER for just IV fluids.

Where I live we have multiple hospitals. The ER's are really only busy at the one's in the inner city. The outlying hospitals aren't that busy, and even the big ones aren't that busy during off peak hours. If Phil hit the ER on a Friday or Saturday evening at an inner city hospital then yeah he might have been over burdening the system, but otherwise no. Another issue I have is that heat stroke/exhaustion can be a serious life threatening condition. Who should have been the one to make the call that Phil didn't deserve a trip to the ER? And call me a suck up but I bet Phil paid for that hospital visit up front. Probably something the majority of ER patients can't say...

[Dpricenator]

IV saline drips are awesome. The best cure for a hangover ever. We were doing a bachelor party in Cabo San Lucas a couple years agao and one guy is a paramedic. So he go got a whole cooler full of saline bags and a bunch of IV kits. Eachmorning for 3 days we would all sit around the breakfast table recovering. The worst hangover ever was cured with in an hour. I wish i could buy some at the store.

[uttexas]

Another issue I have is that heat stroke/exhaustion can be a serious life threatening condition.

Absolutely agree. I have taken my daughter to the ER when she had GI issues and couldn't keep anything down for 5 days. She hadn't urinated for six hours, so I took her to a hospital emergency room. She was admitted to the hospital for two days. I had taken her to urgent care centers (like CareNow and Primacare) the two previous nights for IVF, but she was still getting hypovolemic.

Always monitor urine output---especially in dry, hot conditions (PHX, Vegas, desert golf). You might not feel hot due to the dry weather and lack of sweat, but if you aren't urinating clear urine every two to three hours, you are dehydrated and drink more fluids. Alcohol on hot days is a recipe for disaster, it is a diuretic causing you to lose more fluids.

[flap]

Gentlemen;The story as it appeared in the New York Post was he had dinner with Mark Cannizarro on Friday night and ate some Callamad and got food poisioning and it was down hill after that.