The summer festival season is well underway and there's some great times to be had ahead. Inevitably though, some of us will push it too hard.
After comparing notes, these are the Bluebelly team's top recommended tips for getting through the festival season in the best shape possible.
1. Plan ahead
- Be as healthy as you can. Eat well, sleep well before
- Do some research (Bluebelly, Bluelight, Erowid or other sites)
- How much you are going to spend
- How much you are going to take if you plan to use
- How you are getting home, what to do if you get into trouble, where are you going to meet
- If you’re camping, where is the tent (you might need a flag or similar?)
- Then stick to it
2. Dehydration and/or overheating
- Drink water or sports drink (preferably alternate the two)
- 500ml per hour if active
- 250ml per hour if resting
- Don’t leave your drink unattended or accept drinks from strangers
- Find somewhere cool
- Avoid caffeinated drinks such as energy drinks and colas
- Limit alcohol
- Stop activity if you feel nauseous or light-headed or stop sweating
- Seek medical attention if things don’t improve
- For an interesting guide about combating overheating we like Lifeline's comic series http://www.exchangesupplies.org/shopdisp_P6.php?page=read
3. Stick with your mates
- And then watch out for them
- Learn to recognise when someone is in trouble
- Help them out if you can
- Get someone who can if you can’t
4. Be aware of mixing drugs
- Mixing will compound the effects
- GHB and alcohol can be lethal
- Be aware of interactions if you are on medication
5. Take a break
- Multiple dropping or consecutive nights will lead to loss of energy and lack of sleep
- These can lead to mental health problems such as paranoia, anxiety, depression as well as relationship or friendship strains
- Come downs can be difficult, recognise the symptoms and patterns and how to minimise them
- Take a break and allow your body to recover
6. If in doubt, call an ambulance
- Ambos rarely call police to attend a drug related callout
For other general festival tips we like http://www.mobilesurvivalkit.com/festivalTips/
There are lots of other useful tips out there. Feel free to add them to the wiki or put them in a comment below.