Dehydration

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about excessive loss of body water. For other uses, see Dehydration (disambiguation).

Dehydration
heatwaves, disease (most commonly from diseases that cause vomiting and/or diarrhea), exercise
TreatmentDrinking clean water
MedicationSaline

In

immersion diuresis, which may increase risk of decompression sickness in divers
.

Most people can tolerate a 3-4% decrease in total body water without difficulty or adverse health effects. A 5-8% decrease can cause

discomfort and is usually resolved with oral rehydration
.

Dehydration can cause

sodium ions in the blood) and is distinct from hypovolemia (loss of blood volume, particularly blood plasma
).

Chronic dehydration can contribute to the formation of

kidney stones as well as the development of chronic kidney disease.[5][6]

Signs and symptoms

Urine color as an indicator of hydration[7]
Ultrasound of the blood vessels of the neck that supports the diagnosis of severe dehydration[8]

The hallmarks of dehydration include

serum osmolality of 295 mOsm/kg or more" and found that the main symptom in the elderly (people aged over 65) was fatigue.[clarification needed][12]

Cause

Risk factors for dehydration include but are not limited to: exerting oneself in hot and humid weather, habitation at high altitudes, endurance athletics, elderly adults, infants, children and people living with chronic illnesses.[13]

Dehydration can also come as a side effect from many different types of drugs and medications.[14]

In the elderly, blunted response to thirst or inadequate ability to access free water in the face of excess free water losses (especially

sweating, vomiting and diarrhea, and insensible water loss, occurring mainly through the skin and respiratory tract. In humans, dehydration can be caused by a wide range of diseases and states that impair water homeostasis in the body. These occur primarily through either impaired thirst/water access or sodium excess.[16]

Diagnosis

Definition

Dehydration occurs when water intake does not replace

osmotic cerebral edema if rehydration is overly rapid.[17]

The term "dehydration" has sometimes been used incorrectly as a proxy for the separate, related condition of hypovolemia, which specifically refers to a decrease in volume of blood plasma.[3] The two are regulated through independent mechanisms in humans;[3] the distinction is important in guiding treatment.[18]

Further information: Portsmouth sign

Prevention

For routine activities, thirst is normally an adequate guide to maintain proper hydration.[19] Minimum water intake will vary individually depending on weight, energy expenditure, age, sex, physical activity, environment, diet, and genetics.[20][21] With exercise, exposure to hot environments, or a decreased thirst response, additional water may be required. In athletes in competition, drinking to thirst optimizes performance and safety, despite weight loss, and as of 2010, there was no scientific study showing that it is beneficial to stay ahead of thirst and maintain weight during exercise.[22]

In warm or humid weather, or during heavy exertion, water loss can increase markedly, because humans have a large and widely variable capacity for sweating. Whole-body sweat losses in men can exceed 2 L/h during

electrolytes, especially sodium, are also being lost.[citation needed
]

In most athletes exercising and sweating for 4–5 hours with a sweat sodium concentration of less than 50 mmol/L, the total sodium lost is less than 10% of total body stores (total stores are approximately 2,500 mmol, or 58 g for a 70-kg person).[24] These losses appear to be well tolerated by most people. The inclusion of sodium in fluid replacement drinks has some theoretical benefits[24] and poses little or no risk, so long as these fluids are hypotonic (since the mainstay of dehydration prevention is the replacement of free water losses).

Treatment

Main article: Management of dehydration

The most effective treatment for minor dehydration is widely considered to be drinking water and reducing fluid loss. Plain water restores only the volume of the blood plasma, inhibiting the thirst mechanism before solute levels can be replenished.[25] Solid foods can contribute to replace fluid loss from vomiting and diarrhea.[26] Urine concentration and frequency will return to normal as dehydration resolves.[27]

In some cases, correction of a dehydrated state is accomplished by the replenishment of necessary water and

erythrocytes).[citation needed
]

When fresh water is unavailable (e.g. at sea or in a desert), seawater or drinks with significant alcohol concentration will worsen dehydration. Urine contains a lower solute concentration than seawater; this requires the kidneys to create more urine to remove the excess salt, causing more water to be lost than was consumed from seawater.[28] If a person is dehydrated and taken to a medical facility, IVs can also be used.[29][30][31][32]

For severe cases of dehydration where

fainting, unconsciousness, or other severely inhibiting symptoms are present (the patient is incapable of standing upright or thinking clearly), emergency attention is required. Fluids containing a proper balance of replacement electrolytes are given orally or intravenously with continuing assessment of electrolyte status; complete resolution is normal in all but the most extreme cases.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Dehydration - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic.
  2. ^ Ahmed M. El-Sharkawy; Opinder Sahota; Dileep N. Lobo. "Acute and chronic effects of hydration status on health". academic.oup.com. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  3. ^
    S2CID 29854540
    .
  4. ^ Ashcroft F, Life Without Water in Life at the Extremes. Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2000, 134-138.
  5. ISBN 978-0-12-814556-2
    .
  6. ISSN 0250-8095
    .
  7. ^ "Urine colour chart". Healthdirect Australia. January 2024.
  8. ^ "UOTW#59 - Ultrasound of the Week". Ultrasound of the Week. September 23, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  9. ISBN 1-85487-675-9
  10. PMID 25346594
    .
  11. ^ Hall, Harriet (August 17, 2020). "Are You Dehydrated?". Skeptical Inquirer. 4 (4).
  12. PMID 25924806
    .
  13. ^ "Dehydration Risk factors - Mayo Clinic". www.mayoclinic.org. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  14. ^ "Types of Drugs and Medications That Can Cause Dehydration". WebMD.
  15. PMID 7731073
    .
  16. PMID 22762930
    .
  17. ^ Dehydration at eMedicine
  18. PMID 21705120
    .
  19. ISBN 9780309091695. Retrieved February 7, 2018. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help
    )
  20. ^ Godman H (September 2016). "How much water should you drink?". Harvard Health. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  21. PMID 36423296
    .
  22. PMID 21346332
    .
  23. PMID 23849497
    .
  24. ^
    S2CID 14693195
    .
  25. ISBN 978-0-8493-7008-3
    .
  26. ^ "Healthwise Handbook," Healthwise, Inc. 1999
  27. ^ Wedro B. "Dehydration". MedicineNet. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  28. ^ "Can Humans drink seawater?". National Ocean Service. National Ocean Service NOAA Department of Commerce.
  29. ^ "Find Water Article by Gary Benton - Simple Survival". www.simplesurvival.net.
  30. ^ "At Home In The Wilderness Part II: Water". wildwoodsurvival.com.
  31. ^ "EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm) - A Survival Primer". www.equipped.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  32. ^ "Five Basic Survival Skills in the Wilderness". Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  33. PMID 7629413
    .

Further reading

External links

Look up dehydration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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