Search for any health
topic on HealthMash:
 | ||
What is dehydration?
Dehydration can lead to serious complications, including: Heat injury. Inadequate fluid intake combined with vigorous exercise and heavy perspiration can lead to heat injury, ranging in severity from mild heat cramps to heat exhaustion to potentially life-threatening heatstroke. Swelling of the brain (cerebral edema). Most often, the fluid you lose when you're dehydrated contains the same amount of sodium your blood does (isotonic dehydration). In some instances, though, you may lose more sodium than fluid (hypotonic dehydration). To compensate for this loss, your body produces particles that pull water back into the cells. As a result, your cells may absorb too much water during the rehydration...
Read more on www.mayoclinic.com
dehydration information from trusted sources:
Dehydration
Electrolytes are minerals in your body that have an electric charge. They are in your blood, urine and body fluids. Maintaining the right balance of electrolytes helps your body's blood chemistry, muscle action and other processes. Sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, phosphate and magnesium are all electrolytes. You get them from the foods you eat and the fluids you drink. Levels of electrolytes in your body can become too low or too high. That can happen when the amount of water in your body changes. Causes include some medicines, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating or kidney problems. Problems most often occur with levels of sodium, potassium or calcium. Read more on
www.nlm.nih.gov
Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when you lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn't have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. If you don't replenish lost fluids, you may suffer serious consequences. Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com
Dehydration
Water makes up over two-thirds of the healthy human body. It is essential for lubricating the joints and eyes, aiding digestion, flushing out waste and toxins and keeping skin healthy. Read more on
www.nhs.uk
Dehydration
Dehydration (dee-heye-DRAY-shen) is a condition that happens when the amount of water in the body is lower than normal. Normally, the body has the right amount of water inside and outside of the cells. Water and electrolytes (mineral salts) are usually in balance in the body. This balance is important to keep your body working properly. With dehydration, electrolyte levels may be increased or decreased. This may cause serious effects, such as your kidneys and other organs to not work properly. Read more on
www.pdrhealth.com
Dehydration in Adults
Dehydration is a condition that occurs when the loss of body fluids, mostly water, exceeds the amount that is taken in. With dehydration, more water is moving out of our cells and then out of our bodies than the amount of water we take in through drinking. We lose water every day in the form of water vapor in the breath we exhale and as water in our sweat, urine, and stool. Along with the water, small amounts of salts are also lost. Read more on
www.emedicinehealth.com
Dehydration Symptoms, Causes, Prevention, Signs and Effects by ...
Mar 19, 2011 ... Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving the body is greater than the amount being taken in. The body is very dynamic and always ... Read more on
www.medicinenet.com
Dehydration - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dehydration (hypohydration) is defined as an excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water (Ancient Greek: ὕδωρ hýdōr) from an object, ... Read more on
en.wikipedia.org
Dehydration - Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Dehydration
Jul 1, 2009 ... Dehydration occurs when your body loses too much fluid. by the time you become severely dehydrated, you no longer have enough fluid in your ... Read more on
www.webmd.com
Dehydration
Your body is about two thirds water. When the water level dips below that level, you could be dehydrated. Read about what causes dehydration, what it does ... Read more on
kidshealth.org
Dehydration: eMedicine Pediatrics: Cardiac Disease and Critical ...
Nov 3, 2009 ... Overview: Dehydration describes a state of negative fluid balance that may be caused by numerous disease entities. Read more on
emedicine.medscape.com
Contents
Causes
Dehydration is caused by not drinking enough fluid, or by losing fluid (through sweat, tears, vomiting, urine or diarrhoea) and not replacing it.
Read more on
www.nhs.uk
Diagnosis
A good indicator of dehydration is how often you pass urine and how concentrated it is. If you urinate fewer than three or four times a day, the amount of urine is small, and it is unusually dark in colour, you are probably dehydrated.
Read more on
www.nhs.uk
Exams and Tests
A physical examination may also show signs of:Low blood pressure; Blood pressure that drops when you go from lying down to standing; Rapid heart rate ; Poor skin turgor -- the skin may lack its normal elasticity and sag back into position slowly when pinched up into a fold by the doctor; normally, skin springs right back into position; Delayed capillary refill ; Shock ; Blood chemistries (to check electrolytes, especially sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate levels); Urine specific gravity (a...
Read more on
www.nlm.nih.gov
Medical advice
Outlook (Prognosis)
When dehydration is recognized and treated promptly, the outcome is generally good.
Read more on
www.nlm.nih.gov
Possible Complications
Untreated severe dehydration may result in seizures, permanent brain damage, or death.
Read more on
www.nlm.nih.gov
Preparing for your appointment
You're likely to start by first seeing your family doctor or your child's pediatrician. However, in some cases when you call to set up an appointment, your doctor may recommend urgent medical care. If your child or an adult who you care for is showing signs of severe dehydration, such as lethargy or reduced responsiveness, seek immediate care at a hospital.
Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com
Prevention
You can avoid becoming dehydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. The Food Standards Agency recommends that if you live in the UK (or somewhere with a similar climate) you should drink about six to eight glasses of fluid every day.
Read more on
www.nhs.uk
Risk factors
Anyone can become dehydrated if the loss of fluids outweighs fluid intake. But certain people are at greater risk, including: Infants and children. Worldwide, dehydration caused by diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children. Infants and children are especially vulnerable because of their relatively small body weights and high turnover of water and electrolytes. They're also the group most likely to experience diarrhea. In the United States, diarrhea remains one of the most common childhood illnesses. Older adults. As you age, you become more susceptible to dehydration for several reasons: Your body's ability to conserve water is reduced, your thirst sense becomes less acute and you're...
Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com
Symptoms
Mild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause: Dry, sticky mouth; Sleepiness or tiredness children are likely to be less active than usual; Thirst; Decreased urine output fewer than six wet diapers a day for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens; Few or no tears when crying; Muscle weakness; Headache; Dizziness or lightheadedness
Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com
Treatments and drugs
The only effective treatment for dehydration is to replace lost fluids and lost electrolytes. The best approach to dehydration treatment depends on your age, the severity of your dehydration and its cause.
Read more on
www.mayoclinic.com