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.
