sorry to bring this up but....

[the kid]

have any of you experienced urinating blood after a serious session???

do ya beat til your your hands get water and blood blyssters

i believe the urinating blood is from dehydradion in the kidneys
boxers and athletes get it too


most doctors are appaled by this but some sports physicans know all about it


and definatly being very fit and hydrated would help, i think,
one good isotonic drink is a mix of apple juice and water half and half
Has any one advice on this

is it dangerous ??
mind you it only happens from hard beating and fast playing which can,t be avoided sometimes

[rachelnguyen]

I have heard of blood in the urine. Alan Tauber, the man that runs the Drum Connection in Boston MA described it on the Djembe-L mailing list. I think he ended up in the hospital. If I can find a link to the archives, I'll post it.

As to the blood blisters, definitely yes. When I first started playing, I developed a couple of blood blisters on the base of my fingers. With time, my hands have toughened up and I haven't had any for awhile. And yes, regular blisters, too.

But my hands were pretty tender in the beginning. Now I think it would take a very strenuous session to raise those kinds of blisters on my hands.

[bops]

No, it's not something to shoot for. But is it dangerous?

Maybe... it depends on the frequency I suppose. It's somewhat common for distance runners (and coincidently, djembe players) to experience this symptom. What causes it? I'm told that it's actually protein - not blood exactly - that causes the discoloration. I was informed of this by my doctor, who had me pee in a cup after a particularly intense dance class. My urine had about 50 times the normal range for protein. The protein, apparently, is being forced through the tubules of the kidney without being broken down properly, which can cause discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen. This is likely due to the rapid deterioration of muscle tissue in the hands.

While blisters - water or blood - are on the surface, it's really the calluses that are causing your pee to be dark. Blisters are usually a sign that your skin has yet to develop a resistance to your technique - maybe you have recently adjusted it in some way.

The peeing "blood" side effect is something that happens every once in a while for every hard-working djembe player. Perhaps to the masters it never happens. But to me it's like having an argument with your girlfriend or spouse... it may not be pretty, but sometimes it just has to happen.

[rachelnguyen]

I found the link I was looking for:

http://www.drums.org/djembefaq/v13f.htm

[the kid]

yo thanks for the mails on this bludy subject, bops and racheal

i dont fancy the renal failour but i recon that is very extreme and unfortunate for the guy in question ( makes me take it much more seriously do)

the excess proteins in the urine sound on the mark. and i did come up with this idea myself but didn't realise how the broken tissue in the hands made it's way into the bladder

my advice was that it was due to dehydration in the kidneys due to the bodies rapid use of fluids during repetitive movement of the limbs
in the end the kidneys runs out of disposable fluid and starts to bleed

maybe its aconbination of these factors

any ways if it happens to YOU it best to start taken on plenty of fluids
and live and eat healthy

the first time it happened me i felt as if it was some kind of initation and sacrifice of my self for the art and the drum and the ancestors

one blood.......

[rachelnguyen]

I understand the sense of initiation. I always feel that way when I raise a new blister or feel new callouses on my fingers!

[the kid]

yo soul sister
keep baitin the djembe
jah bless them hands

[rachelnguyen]

You know it!

Today I spent ages working on a pick up that's been bugging me. My finger tips are nice and tough now. I love that!

[James]

I pee'ed blood for the first time a couple weeks ago after training. I'd been playing a lot before training and I don't really play djembe for too prolonged time I guess.

About 2 hours later I began to feel really uncomfortable in my lower abdomen. I drank a pint of milk during the whole 2.5 hours of training while drumming.

It occurs to me that milk isn't the best idea in this situation. I'm sure I've played more djembe so maybe it had something to do with it too....

[Dugafola]

i'd stay away from stuff like orange juice or anything acidic.

apple juice and water have done me well.

[James]

Mmmm. Mr keanie introduced me to a mixture of apple juice and water which is very refreshing....

[Dugafola]

i need to follow my own advice next time.
had cola colored urine after dance class last night.

[James]

Ewww. Cola again tonight

[tauber]

Hey Everyone.

Maybe the blood in the urine is sort of a rite of passage but it can be a sign of danger as well. In 1997, the cola-colored urine came 2 or 3 times in a one week period. When I got to the hospital I had a very high fever and my kidneys were not functioning normally.

The combination of my unusual symptoms and relatively quiet history made the diagnosis difficult. What I think happened was I was dehydrated, I was playing much harder than I ever had before and for longer periods of time.

It took my body about a year to really normalize. So, I recommend that if you have this cola-colored urine, be careful. If it continues, get it checked. It is a sign that your kidneys are not functioning properly.

Tips for healthy drumming: Don't drink acidic drinks before playing — like caffeine, cola, orange juice. DO drink lots of water before, during and after playing. Don't take ibuprofen or aspirin before playing. DO chew a Tums (baking soda) before playing.

I think when we are beginner drummers we lose perspective on what we are doing! We get entranced by the drumming, maybe we get caught up in playing to impress. I have seen this so much from younger and new drummers. Most drummers just play way too hard with bad technique. Some make it an exercise and a work-out. And that's okay if you are aware of what you are physically doing.

Now, I play very relaxed and light and I get almost the volume of sound I used to get in my younger days. Players like Famoudou Konate often uses his smarts to get the drummers to play softly so he can play a nice solo on the rhythm. In fact, he always does this. And he's my master. He, also, is 70 years old and the greatest drummer of our times. So, when Famoudou speaks, I certainly listen. I have learned so much from him about drums, love and life.

Alan

[bubudi]

up to 80% of athletes get cola coloured urine, caused by intense exertion. running and jumping is an extremely common cause as is boxing, cycling and drumming. some of my drumming teachers have talked affectionately about it. it's known as stress haematuria and is so common in drummers that medicos have given it the nickname "bongo drum hematuria" (seriously, look it up in google). decreased blood flow to the kidneys as well as trauma to the pelvic area (including bladder and kidneys) from the movement of exertion are considered to be the cause. temporary pain to the back, abdomen or thighs is a common response.

some foods and medications (e.g. beetroot, berries, food colouring, chloroquine, laxatives, dilantin) can cause cola-coloured urine, as can intensely concentrated urine (from dehydration).

another similar condition is ketonuria. during intense exercise or fasting the body uses up the glycogen reserves. without any glucose, it resorts to breaking down fats and proteins to get energy and the broken down products, called ketones, pass through the kidneys. in a person who frequently gets ketonuria, especially when exercise is not the cause, it is indicative of diabetes. make sure you eat well 2 hours before and soon after a heavy drumming session. there is also haemoglobinuria (presence of the oxygen carrying, pigment-containing protein from red blood cells in the urine, which also can be due to intense exercise) and myoglobinuria (presence of a type of pigment-containing protein the urine, usually from trauma) which also cause this kind of discoloured urine.

stress hematuria disippates quite a bit within 12 hours, totally disappearing within about 72 hours. so if you get it once in a while i wouldn't worry too much about it. just consider what likely caused it (food, fasting, medication, stress, exercise, etc) and how long the urine has been discoloured. if it doesn't dissipate or persists, you should get it checked immediately. i agree with what was said about adequate hydration. diluted fruit juice is best (nothing too heavy or pulpy) and supplies some much needed glucose and fructose to the body during high exertion. water is always good. dairy or any food is never a good idea at the time of exercise. don't drink 2-3 litres all at once or drink 10 litres in one day as this will also overload your vital organs and cause an electrolyte imbalance. don't worry too much about the effect of acidic drinks like orange juice. although they are bad for the teeth, if anything, they have been shown to reduce the incidence of kidney stones.