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Symptoms for Dehydration
Ignoring the symptoms for dehydration can have a significant impact on your health, your state of mind and in severe cases can even cause death.
In addition, if you use your own thirst level as an indicator of how hydrated you are, you might be surprised to learn that this isn’t always a reliable method.
We’ll look at several important symptoms for dehydration and tell you which ones are serious enough that you should be seeking medical attention.
What the Symptoms for Deydration Mean
For the sake of simplicity, let’s take a very quick and simple look at what dehydration is, in everyday terminology we can all understand.
The definition of dehydration, according to WebMD, is pretty straight forward; basically dehydration occurs when your body is losing more fluids than are being replenished at any given time. Quite simple.
When you think about it hydration and dehydration really isn’t that different from balancing your home budget. If you’re spending more money than you have coming in, you’re gonna have a problem sooner or later. Before you know it something is bound to crash.
How do we Lose Water?
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We lose water through 3 basic daily activities, whether we realize it or not.
We lose water:
- When we sweat
- Via the vapors expelled when we breathe
- Each time we go to the bathroom – through both urine and stool
It goes without saying that the more active you are, the more you are going to both sweat and breathe. Both of these will accelerate the dehydration process if you’re not getting enough water.
And as for bathroom activities…well, I’ll try and remain somewhat mature here (my wife is sure to roll her ayes at that one) and refrain from explanations. I’m sure you can use your imagination to put 2 and 2 together in that department.
The Symptoms for Dehydration
If you suspect you aren’t getting enough water, there are several reliable symptoms for dehydration you can pay attention to.
There are symptoms for both light to moderate dehydration as well as symptoms for more serious and severe dehydration. The symptoms for dehydration of a severe nature should be taken very seriously and it’s recommended that you speak with a doctor if you experience them.
Light to Moderate Symptoms for Dehydration
Ask yourself if you’ve experienced any of the following:
- The most obvious symptom; are you thirsty?
- Do you have a headache?
- Do you feel dizzy? Have you fainted?
- Do you feel tired, drowsy or sluggish?
- Any signs of confusion or mental “fogginess”?
- Have you been constipated?
- Any mouth dryness or stickiness?
- Any decrease in urination output or frequency?
- Inability to sweat even while exercising?
Severe Symptoms for Dehydration – Seek Medical Care
Ask yourself if you’ve experienced any of the following:
- Extended periods of diarrhea
- Extended periods of vomiting
- Physical weakness
- Noticeable weight loss
- Extreme thirst
- A Fever in excess of 101 degrees F
- No urination in more than twelve hours
- Accelerated heart rate
- Change in breathing
Hydration and Daily Life
Over the years I have developed the habit of drinking no less than 3/4 of a gallon of clean & healthy water, daily. I established this practice many years prior to getting into the water treatment business.
There are so many benefits I have experienced in my own personal life, as a result of proper hydration. I can tell you with 100% certainty that when I am paying close attention to keeping myself hydrated, life is good!
- I sleep better at night.
- I wake up easier in the morning.
- I’m much less likely to get headaches.
- I have far more energy when doing anything physical or athletic.
- I feel much more alert, and dare I say, smarter – literally! My mental clarity is noticeably better when I’m hydrated.
- I have far fewer aches & pains.
- My moods are much better and I’m typically happier.
- My cravings for junk food decrease.
I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the point.
I’ll simply wrap things up by saying that if you suspect you have experienced any of the symptoms for dehydration mentioned earlier you might want to ask yourself if you are drinking enough water.
Believe me when I tell you it could make a tremendous difference.
*As always, I am not a doctor (nor do I play one on TV). If you suspect you may be dehydrated, especially of the severe nature, talk with your doctor. You simply can’t replace sound medical advise from a professional.
