Are you feeling thirsty? Drink your water now! You might get dehydrated. Dehydration takes place when your body losses more fluid than you take in. In this case, the body doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. When too much water is lost from the body, its organs, cells, and tissues fail to function normally, which can lead to dangerous complications.
Excessive sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea are common causes of dehydration. Other causes may include excessive urination, fever, and not drinking enough water. Dehydration is more likely to occur in older adults, infants, and young children, people with chronic illnesses, and people working outdoors who are exposed to excessive amounts of heat such as welders, landscapers, and construction workers, and athletes. Symptoms of dehydration may begin to appear before total dehydration takes place. Symptoms of mild to moderate dehydration include fatigue, dry mouth, increased thirst, decreased urination, dry skin, dizziness, and headache. In severe cases, severe dehydration is likely to cause excessive thirst, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, rapid breathing, sunken eyes, and dark urine.
The treatment for dehydration is to replace the lost fluids and electrolytes. You may just need to drink lots of water in mild cases. Drinking enough water is important for many reasons: it helps regulate body temperature, prevent infections, keeps joints lubricated, deliver nutrients to cells, and keep organs functioning properly. Being well-hydrated also improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood. If you lost electrolytes, sports drinks may help. Additionally, there are also oral rehydration solutions that you can buy without a prescription for children. Intravenous (IV) fluids with salt may be used to treat severe cases in a hospital. Drinking enough water is beneficial to your overall health. It has zero calories that can you manage your body weight. Drinking water can prevent dehydration. However, daily fluid intake recommendations vary by age, sex, pregnancy, and breastfeeding status. According to the Institute of Medicine, women aim to consume 2.7 liters or 91 ounces of fluids daily, and men can drink 3.7 liters or 125 ounces. Drink your way to better health. Drink water!
-DMO II -ZDN Rowence F. Zorilla, RND
References:
1. What To Know About Dehydration
https://www.healthline.com/health/dehydration
2. Dehydration
https://medlineplus.gov/dehydration.html
3. Get the Facts: Drinking Water and Intake
https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/data-statistics/plain-water-the-healthier-choice.html
4. The importance of hydration
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/the-importance-of-hydration/#:~:text=Drinking%20enough%20water%20each%20day,quality%2C%20cognition%2C%20and%20mood.
