Susan Yeargin, PhD, ATC

Replace Electrolytes Lost During Sports

Sweating results in the loss of both electrolytes (particularly sodium) and water. Orange juice, moderate salting of food in the diet, and sports drinks help replace electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chloride lost during sports.

Drinking Fluids Before, During and After Sports Important For Children

Surprising, as it may seem, the most important part of an athlete's diet isn't what they eat, it is what and how much they drink. Drinking fluids before, during and after sports is especially important for pre-adolescent children because they have special fluid needs compared to adults, or even teenagers. Recent research, however, suggests that a "one-size-fits-all" prescriptive advice to drinking is outdated because sweat water losses are dynamic and and because the three main drivers of sweat water loss are highly variable in children.

Do Children Handle Heat As Well As Adults?

The myth that children are more vulnerable to heat than adults is based on the first studies of youth exercising in the heat conducted in the 1970's and 1980's. More recent research shows that, while youth use a different thermoregulation strategy than adults, they are still efficient at dissipating and handling the heat, at least in mild to moderately hot conditions.

National Youth Sports Safety Month

Susan Yeargin (Athletic Trainer): Preventing Heat Illness Is Her Passion

Submitted by National Youth Sports Safety Month on Mon, 04/09/2012 - 13:22. | comments

In recognition of April as National Youth Sports Safety Month, MomsTeam asked 30 experts to write a blog answering two questions: first, how or why did they get into their field, and second, how have they made a difference in the life of a youth athlete in the past year.

Today, we hear once again from Susan Yeargin, a certified athletic trainer, MomsTeam's hydration expert, Assistant Professor in the Physical Education and Athletic Training Department at the University of South Carolina, and new mom!

By Susan Yeargin, PhD, ATC

An athletic trainer decides to devote her professional career to studying ways to improve child and adolescent hydration and the prevention and treatment of heat illness after learning of the death of a college football player from heat stroke.

Ten Ways To Prevent Heat Illness

So far in the summer of 2011, at least five athletes and one coach have died of heat stroke. Heat illness, however, is one of the most preventable youth sports injuries. Here are ten ways parents can help keep their child safe in the heat.

Ten Hydration Tips for Youth Athletes

A handy list of ten hydration tips for youth athletes from MomsTeam's Dr. Susan Yeargin.

Child's Sports Hydration Status Result of Several Factors

A child's sports hydration status can be affected, positively or negatively, by beverage type, flavor, container type, accessibility, and parental and coach attitudes about hydration.

Hyponatremia: Dangerous Drop in Sodium Level From Excessive Water Consumption

Hyponatremia is a relatively rare form of heat illness in which sodium levels in the blood become dangerously low due to excessive water consumption. It usually occurs in endurance and ultra-endurance events lasting four hours or longer. While children do not ordinarily participate in these kinds of activities, hyponatremia is so dangerous that it something sports parents should know about.