There are a variety of reasons why you might be dehydrated, beyond simply not drinking enough. For instance, you may have diarrhea or vomiting or sweat profusely. There are also some medications you can take that will make you pee a lot. Basically, if you are losing fluid faster than you can replace it, you will find yourself dehydrated.
What Can You Do?
It should come as no surprise, but the main thing you can do to reverse the situation and treat your dehydration is by replacing not just the fluids but the electrolytes (that is the essential minerals present in your blood and other body fluids) too.
Is Simply Drinking Water Enough?
Well, it really depends on how badly dehydrated you are. For instance, if it is a mild case of dehydration, drinking plenty of fluids, particularly water should help. You may want to consider buying one of the special drinks that are available on the market these days that can help replace the water and electrolytes you have lost.
If you are unable to get your hands on one of these, don’t try to recreate the recipe at home, simply work on replacing the water and electrolytes by sipping water, salty broths, or soups, water mixed with some crushed fruit, or even fruit juice.
It’s important to keep in mind that fruit juices could upset your stomach. Therefore, it’s a good idea to dilute them in water. You should definitely avoid alcoholic and carbonated drinks, as they are diuretics. While it’s true that coffee and tea are diuretics too, unless you try to drink them in large quantities, you should be fine.
What If It’s Serious?
In most cases, the tips above should help you to start feeling better. However, if you have a serious case of dehydration, it may be necessary to get in contact with your doctor or the emergency services for IV fluid treatment. You may need to attend the hospital.
If you suffer from any of the following symptoms, you need to get specialist medical attention immediately:
- Have not passed urine for 8 hours
- Have suffered from a seizure
- Are confused and disorientated
- Have a rapid or weak pule
- Feel extremely tired
- Feel dizzy if you try to stand
- Are vomiting too much or too nauseated to take in any fluids to replace those you lost
Hopefully none of the above will ever happen to you, but at least you know what to look out for if you do feel you have lost a lot of fluids and are having trouble replacing them.
