Exercise some more, you are told. It’s good for you! But you have to be careful not to get dehydrated. The need to stay hydrated is something you hear about from health and fitness experts all the time. But what’s all the fuss about how much water is sloshing around in your veins?
This post will help you understand why you should always watch your hydration levels. And among other things, we will also give you a tip or two to help you keep adequately hydrated at all times.
What Is Dehydration?
All life forms depend on water in some way, including those that lose tons of it at the gym every morning. Giving off a little is usually great, as any health expert will tell you, as long as you balance how much water you lose with how much you gain.
However, you sometimes end up losing more water than you gain, and this net loss of water is called dehydration.
Dehydration affects people in unique ways, depending on their specific physiology and health status, but its effects and risks are roughly the same across the board. But before we go into these other aspects of the subject, let us understand what causes dehydration.
All life forms depend on water in some way. Image Credit: PexelsWhat Causes Dehydration?
Dehydration is a continuous process that begins somewhere and ends with some uncomfortably parched consequences. Here, we will look at the major ones.
Fasting
You may already know a bit about fasting, if it is part of your religion. But did you know that fasting can be a healthy dietary exercise with health benefits? It’s true. But what’s also true is that fasting can cause you to lose a lot of water quickly, which can be dangerous.
It usually depends on what kind of fast you engage in. For instance, the OMAD diet plan may or may not leave you dehydrated, while dry fasting almost certainly will. However, fasting in general still tends to cause net water loss.
Sweating
Bodily waste can also be liquid, and sweating is how your body disposes of it. When you exert yourself, your temperature rises, and your sweat glands activate. Then, your body releases liquid waste in the form of sweat, which also serves to cool you off. A convenient arrangement, is it not? It definitely is, but it also means your body now has less water to work with, and it’s time to stop and grab the water bottle.
Sickness
When you’re sick is another time when your body may tend to lose water overall. This can be in the form of ailments like diabetes, adrenal gland disorders, kidney disease, etc., that cause dehydration.
Diarrhea and vomiting, especially in infants, can also be a major cause. But aside from the ailment itself, recovery can also dehydrate you, especially as people recovering from fevers tend to sweat a lot as part of the process.
Urination
Urination is a perfectly healthy and normal way in which your body gets rid of liquid waste. Of course, that is until said body basically turns on the hose, and urination becomes excessive and/or more frequent.
Especially if you don’t drink loads of water all the time, your dehydration rate by this means may be excessive. If you’ve been using the washroom a bit too frequently, it may be time to go and see your doctor. But, in the meantime, you need to up your fluid intake.
How Do You Know You’re Getting Dehydrated?
As noted, dehydration only happens when you lose more water than you gain. But naturally, this may not always be the case, even if you fast, sweat, or urinate a lot. So, how can you tell when you’re actually dehydrating?
- Extreme thirst: When you feel so parched you could gulp a lake, it’s a sign you urgently need a lot of water.
- Fatigue: The combination of thirst and mild dehydration generally cause fatigue, which can be a sign you need to drink water.
- Headaches: Though it is an uncommon symptom, headaches can also happen when you’re very dehydrated, as there’s less water in your blood cells. This will not be good for the blood vessels in your head.
- Reduced water removal: Ironically, while excessive urination can make you lose a lot of water, very reduced urination frequency or volume can also mean you’re dehydrated. Roughly the same is true of tears, as reduced tear production can mean you have less water on average. Essentially, being able to sob freely (tears and all) can indicate good health.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Dehydration
Most of the signs we have discussed are obvious ones you can easily recognize after the condition has advanced a bit. Detecting a condition a bit later isn’t really ideal. Moreover, these symptoms can also indicate something else. A doctor can usually tell if you are dehydrated by conducting diagnostic tests. These may include any combination of the following:
- They may check your vitals, such as your heart rate and blood pressure.
- They may check your blood electrolyte levels to determine any fluid loss.
- They may check your creatinine levels to determine kidney functionality.
- They may perform a urinalysis to determine fluid loss through color change or the presence of some bacteria.
Luckily, if you are dehydrated, you can simply rehydrate. But, of course, it’s not necessarily that simple.
For some people, such as those with severe diarrhea or vomiting, rehydrating through drinking may be impractical. If you are in that situation, you may consider intravenous rehydration. This way, you can have the fluids directly introduced through your veins.
However, if you can drink, you can combine water with an electrolyte-containing rehydration beverage, such as a low-sugar sports or electrolyte drink. You can even prepare your own rehydration drink by adding up half a teaspoonful of salt, six spoons of sugar, and a liter of water.
If you can drink, you can combine water with an electrolyte-containing rehydration beverage, such as a low-sugar sports or electrolyte drinkConclusion
All in all, while it can be dangerous, being dehydrated is not necessarily something to panic about. If you are dehydrated, you can begin to rehydrate immediately. However, you should avoid rehydrating with alcohol, soda, or sweet drinks, as these can compound dehydration.
You don’t have to take the fixing side, though. You can prevent dehydration as long as you take in a lot of fluids (especially when sick or exercising) and avoid heavy or hot clothes in hot seasons.
Related Post: 5 Things You Need to Know about Hydration for Cyclists
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