Dehydration occurs when the body does not have enough water and electrolytes. The average adult needs approximately 3 quarts of water per day. Some people require more fluids especially when they are taking certain medications, ill (vomiting/diarrhea), vigorously exercising, or sweating excessively. Older people and children are often the most susceptible because the signs or symptoms of dehydration are dismissed as something else, for example, age-related “senior” moments. Most people do not think to ask a sleepy senior how much water they drank when they are feeling faint or like a nap.
Dehydration that goes unchecked can have very severe consequences including death. Every year during a heat wave there are news reports about people who died, usually elderly folks, children, and those with comprised immune systems and pre-existing health conditions. Dehydration is avoidable, but it takes vigilance to recognize its signs and symptoms in infancy or intervene when the signs are clear.
1. Increased Thirst
People are supposed to consume food, water and other liquids as part of a healthy, balanced diet. A balanced diet keeps the body from going to the extremes of feeling hungry and thirsty. Hunger and increased thirst are primal survival urges. The human body can go longer without food than water. If a person actually feels “thirsty” this is a sign they are dehydrated. Increased thirst is an urge caused by losing just 2 to 3 percent body fluid. Thirst and dry mouth, lips, and throat are a few of the first things fighters show as they cut weight. A dehydrated person with increased thirst should take small sips and gently re-hydrate the body instead of consuming water rapidly because it can overwhelm the body.
2. Dry Mouth
A dry mouth can cause all sorts of problems including tooth decay, chronic cavities and other health conditions. A dry mouth and throat are a sign that the body is thirsty and a signal to eat and drink fluids.
3. Sleepy
Lethargy and fatigue can mean someone is mildly dehydrated. A body with the right amount of fluids means a certain blood volume and homeostasis. When something is off and the scale is tipped is causes all bodily functions to change because the nerves, muscles, chemical signals, and blood volume adapt in an effort to preserve the body.
4. Decreased Urine Output
In combination with the other dehydration symptoms, decreased urine output is a call to attention. There are medications that can cause increased thirst, dry mouth, decreased urination, and other symptoms, so it is important to pay close attention so as to properly intervene.
5. Yellow Urine
Decreased urination especially when it is accompanied by yellow urine usually means that the urine is concentrated. The darker the urine is the more severe the dehydration, so it is important to pay attention to changes in urine/bowel habits, including frequency, amount, and appearance.
6. Headache
A headache can be a painful reminder to drink water. When the body does not have enough fluids the tissues and muscles tense up and shrink, including the brain. As the brain retracts into self-defense mode it literally pulls away from the skull causing discomfort that is known as the dehydration headache.
7. Dry Skin
Dry skin is one of the more severe signs of dehydration. A prime example of this is the fighter who induces sweating to lose water weight. One of the danger signs of dehydration is when the body actually stops producing sweat especially after rigorous exercise Dry skin signals a change in the body, an emergency flare.
8. Dizziness
Lightheadedness and dizziness may serve as the early signs of dehydration. Oftentimes people feel dizzy upon standing up from a seated position. This is because blood pressure fluctuates upon standing. When blood volume changes it affects blood pressure because it means that the heart must beat harder to move the blood. Dizziness is a symptom of changing blood pressure.
