Dehydration is a situation that occurs, when your body losses more fluids than its intake. When too much of water is lost from the body, then it shows adverse effects on the body. Water makes up 75% of the human body. Water is found inside the cells, tissues, organs and even blood. Without this water, your body starts falling apart.
While water is usually lost from the body through sweating, breathing and urinating, we can replenish that by hydrate ng our bodies with water or other liquids. But if the water lost is lesser than the water replenished, it can show severe effects on the body.
Most dehydration problems can be cured by just drinking excess water, but there are cases when people lose much too water and they are advised to seek for immediate medical treatment.
Symptoms of Dehydration:
The first symptoms in most cases are dry mouth, dark colouration of the urine or decreased levels of urine. The colour of urine is extremely important to check the dehydration levels of the body. Here are some other symptoms of dehydration:
- Dry mouth
- Lethargy
- Headache
- Dizziness
People with severe hydration are found to have these following symptoms:
- Sunken eyes
- Fever
- Low blood pressure
- No tears while crying or laughing.
Causes of Dehydration:
The most basic causes of dehydration is not drinking enough water, loosing too much water. In some cases, it is both. Sometimes, dehydration can be caused due to other reasons too. Here are a few to begin with:
Vomiting: Vomiting leads to loss of body fluids from the body. Puking many times leads to dehydration.
Sweating: Hot and humid weather conditions, and vivacious physical activity leads to too much sweating, and this leads to fluid loss and dehydration.
Urinal Infections: Urine infections, diabetics, blood infections and excess intake of alcohol leads to excess urine. This excess urine leads to water loss from the body and causes dehydration.
Disadvantages of Dehydration:
If dehydration is not treated, it might lead to severe disease and in the worst scenarios, it might even lead to failing of organs. So, here are some disadvantages or sicknesses caused due to dehydration of the body.
Energy levels decreases:
Water and liquids are extremely important for the immunity system. They boost the metabolism of the body. Decrease in the water levels will lead to a decrease in the energy levels of the body. As the water levels decrease in the body, it also leads to decrease in the blood circulation and oxygen circulation of the body.
Mouth, Eyes and Skin goes dry:
Your body needs water to keep your skin, eyes and mouth from becoming dry. We constantly lose water from our bodies throughout the day and if we do not replenish that water, then our mouth won’t produce saliva and the mouth and throats will go dry. Skin needs water to stay healthy. The skin cells will go super dry without proper hydration, Also, without water, tears will not be formed in the eyes, leading to a soreness in the eyes.
Discolouration of Urine:
When your urine is clear, it means that you are hydrated. But if your urine changes its colour or becomes darker, it is a sign that you need to hydrate yourselves enough. This is a major symptom checker for dehydration. Without proper hydration, kidneys cannot push out the excess waste and toxins from the body through urine.
Always Hungry:
Like mentioned before, hydration is necessary to boost metabolism. Without proper hydration, your body cannot burn fat. It slows your immune system too. And your body will get confused between thirst and hunger, making you feel hungry all the time.
Treatment and Precautions:
So, it is extremely important to keep your body hydrated. While most of these can be cured just by hydrating yourselves, in some cases, you might need to consult a doctor. Your potassium and electrolyte levels will be checked. Urine analysis will also be done to diagnose your body. And during the treatment foods which are rich in water quantity must be provided and drinks with caffeine must be avoided.
