26/12/2022 / Health and Fitness
Dehydration is a serious issue and can lead to severe complications. Know the meaning of dehydration, along with its causes, signs, treatment, and prevention.
Dehydration is the lack of enough water in your body. It is serious as it can result in coma or death in extreme cases.
Warm weather is famous for the lovely drizzle and heartwarming lemonade but aren't we forgetting something important? It's dehydration! Dehydration is the lack of body fluids, especially in your cells and blood vessels. Even as little as 1.5% less water, can lead to serious issues in your body's metabolism. The symptoms of dehydration can be as simple as a headache or even extreme heat stroke or death. In this article, you would know the causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatments for dehydration.
Dehydration can occur due to a variety of reasons. Here are the common causes of dehydration.
Sweating too much (for example, workouts in hot weather)
Vomiting or diarrhoea
Fever
Not having fluids due to lethargy or illness
Urinating too much (due to diabetes or medicines like diuretics )
Elders and also people with diseases like diabetes are at higher risk of dehydration.
Here are the symptoms of mild dehydration,
Thirst
Dry or sticky mouth
Yellow coloured urine
Not urinating much
If your dehydration levels from mild to moderate levels, you may have symptoms like,
Dry, cool skin
Headache
Muscle cramps
When the dehydration levels reach alarming and dangerous ranges, you would experience symptoms like,
Dark yellow or amber-coloured urine
Dry, shrivelled skin
Irritability or confusion
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Rapid heartbeat
Rapid breathing
Listlessness
Shock (less blood flow through the body)
Sunken eyes
Unconsciousness or delirium
Physiologically, hypovolemia is a balanced loss of sodium/potassium salts and water, which causes low extracellular fluid volume (volume depletion). Hypovolemia can occur due to a decrease in blood volume, kidney issues, loss of body sodium, consequent intravascular water, osmotic diuresis, overuse of pharmacologic diuretics, impaired response to hormones controlling salt and water balance, gastrointestinal losses, skin losses, respiratory losses, build-up of fluid in the empty spaces of the body due to acute pancreatitis, intestinal obstruction, increase in vascular permeability and hypoalbuminemia.
On the other hand, dehydration is the fluid loss that is due to water loss that contains little or no salt (sodium or potassium). In other words, dehydration is the lack of total body water with a disruption of metabolic processes. Dehydration occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake. The causes usually are strenuous exercise, fever, diseases (hyperglycaemia and diarrhoea), high temperature, drug intake and immersion diuresis.
If the dehydrated person is not attended to on time, he/she can,
Develop permanent brain damage
Have seizures
Succumb to death
Dehydration can be diagnosed by the healthcare provider both by physical signs and lab tests. Some of the diagnostic methods are,
Noting the drop in blood pressure or rapid heart rate
Checking for the fingertip colour (white colour indicates dehydration)
Pulling skin to look the elasticity
Blood tests say kidney functions
Urine tests and blood sugar tests
For treating dehydration, you can try the following methods,
Sip water or suck on ice cubes.
Drink water or sports drinks that contain electrolytes.
Stay away from salt tablets as they can cause serious complications.
Ask your doctor what you should eat if you have diarrhoea.
For more severe dehydration or emergencies, you may need to stay in a hospital and receive fluid through a vein (IV).
Here are some of the tips that can help you in preventing dehydration,
Drink plenty of water, especially during hot weather and after workouts.
Carefully monitor older adults and children for their water consumption.
If you are suffering from a fever, vomiting or diarrhoea, you should drink more water than usual.
If your child is vomiting or has diarrhoea, give extra water or oral rehydration drinks at the first signs of illness.
If you are having mild to moderate dehydration symptoms even after having fluids, consider seeking professional help.
If you have influenza, bronchitis or bladder infections, drink more water than usual.
You should call a medical professional or the local emergency number if the patient has,
Loss of consciousness
Confusions or seizures
Fever over 102°F
Rapid pulse
Rapid breathing
Worsening symptoms despite treatments
What Does Water Do for Your Body?
Water is the most important component of your body as it not only constitutes but also regulates various metabolic functions. Your body has around 55% to 78% of water (newborn babies usually have more than 70%). Your brain has around 73% water, your heart has more than 70% water, your bones have 31% water, muscles have around 79%, your lungs have 83% and the skin has 64%. Our whole body is filled with water but what are their functions? Learn about the functions of water below,
Water is very important to your body as it performs so many functions like,
Aiding in digestion and getting rid of waste
Lubricating your joints them
Make saliva for digestion and ingestion
Balancing the body's chemicals with hormones and neurotransmitters
Delivering oxygen all over your body
Cushioning your bones
Regulating your body temperature
Absorbs shocks, thereby protecting the brain and spinal cord
From this, you can understand the essence of water in maintaining your health and well-being. The first sign of your body lacking water is thirst, so drinking water right away would save your body from various damages.
Dehydration is the lack of water in your body for performing all the necessary metabolic functions.
Water does various important functions like maintaining temperature, excreting wastes, protecting sensitive organs and cushioning joints.
Headaches, nausea, vomiting, fever, rapid heartbeat and irregular breathing are some of the symptoms of dehydration.
Water does so many important functions in your body like maintaining temperature, excreting wastes, protecting sensitive organs and cushioning joints.
Yes! Both overhydration and dehydration would be dangerous to the brain. Too much fluid can cause shrinkage of blood vessels while the lack of the same can affect brain functions like memory and coordination.
Yes! Dehydration would make it harder for your heart to pump blood, thereby increasing the heartbeat levels and palpitations. Dehydration also makes your blood thicker and constricts the blood vessels, thereby affecting the pumping efficiency of the heart.
Yes! When the water levels in your body are low, nerve signals are sent to the pituitary gland for the secretion of vasopressin, which constricts the blood vessels. Thus, constriction can cause high blood pressure.
Dehydration causes high blood pressure and having excess water would lower blood pressure.
Dehydration can cause UTIs, kidney stones and also kidney failure.
Yes! Dehydration can cause feelings of weakness and muscle cramps due to reduced blood flow and electrolyte imbalances.
Antihistamines, laxatives, diuretics and chemotherapies can cause dehydration.
Yes! Dehydration can cause shortness of breath due to the lack of oxygen in your cells.
Yes! Dehydration can cause fever and chills.
Yes! Dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness, extreme thirst and dry mouth.
Yes! Dehydration can cause dizziness.
It may occur though it is a very rare phenomenon.
Yes! Dehydration can cause urinary tract infections which can lead to other complications like confusion, falls and kidney failure.
Yes! Dehydration can cause stomach pain so it is very important to have a regular fluid intake.
Yes! Nausea and vomiting are usually extreme symptoms of dehydration.
Yes! Dehydration can cause diarrhoea.
Hypovolemia refers to the decrease in the vascular fluids while dehydration indicates the drop in the whole body's fluid levels.
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