POTASSIUM LOSSES IN SWEAT UNDER HEAT-STRESS

  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 47  (5) , 503-504
Abstract
Six healthy, heat-acclimatized subjects were exposed to different hot and humid environments in a climatic chamber and Na, K, and Cl- concentrations in their sweat, urine and blood were determined. The concentration of K in sweat was considerably higher than that in the plasma, whereas that of Na and Cl- was very much lower. The concentration of K in urine was also 8-12 times higher than that in the plasma as compared to 0.5 to 1.5 times higher for Na and Cl-. The total daily computed losses of K in sweat and urine, of a person working in severe heat in the tropics, can be about 116 meq as against a dietary intake of 97 meq/day thereby resulting in negative K balance. The K depletion in sweat, even in acclimatized Indians, is heavy and is likely to play an important role in the causation of heat-illness.

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