Don’t Ignore These Signs Of Dehydration
Your body is made up of 70 percent water. The fluids in our body are essential for most of your body’s needs, such as lubrication of joints, sustaining body temperature, maintaining organ functions, and transporting oxygen to our cells. We are told to drink eight to ten glasses of water - or one-half of our body weight in ounces - daily, especially if we are exposed to hot weather or excessive perspiration. For me, during the pandemic, it has been challenging to remember to get all my water intake. I have noticed my patients and I seem to drink less, especially if we are working in a masked environment. There are several signs that your water intake is deficient, and I will tell you firsthand they are not all that obvious.
The most common signs of dehydration are feeling parched, dry lips or mouth, and highly concentrated urine. It’s no surprise that the feeling of dehydration leaves you trying to quench your thirst. When your body is desperate for liquids, your kidneys (the organs responsible for urine and blood volume) send a message to the brain, triggering your thirst response. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that a dry mouth or the feeling of being parched may already be a late stage of dehydration. The signals that we are most accustomed to when our body is telling us it is time to drink up are, in fact, a significant alarm that, “HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.” In the worst-case scenario, our bodies will become confused and disoriented.
Sometimes our dehydration manifests in other ways that can be misinterpreted as other pathologies. For example, dehydration can cause extreme fatigue. The body will shut down its blood and water supply to “nonvital” organs, making someone feel exhausted or sluggish. Dehydration can sometimes disguise itself as something entirely different, like orthostatic hypotension. I’m sure some of you reading this article have felt this sensation before. Have you ever stood up quickly and seen spots or felt lightheaded? Your blood pressure drops when you go from lying down to standing, and if you are dehydrated, it will drop very low, causing that lightheaded sensation. In fact, if the dehydration is bad enough, you may even experience an increased heart rate!
In my office, I commonly see three specific signs of dehydration. The first sign may be frequent muscles cramps. If your fluids are low enough, there is generally an electrolyte imbalance in the muscles, which causes involuntary muscle contractions. These contractions are often felt as that abdominal stitch, headache, or the charlie horse in the calf. The second, and most common sign, is constipation. One of the jobs your large intestines perform is water absorption. As a result, the intestines will contract slower, become stiffer, and rob your food waste of moisture, making your waste firm and harder to pass! The final sign I see is dry skin. Sometimes the dry skin is more apparent, flaky, or scaly, but most times, I can tell by how quickly someone’s skin soaks up my massage cream. It’s as if their skin can’t get enough moisture. Here’s something you can try at home: the pinch test. This is an excellent indicator of your skin’s elasticity and hydration. Pinch a small piece of skin, and if it remains tented, that is usually a sign to drink up.
I’ve given you several examples of how the body shows signs of dehydration, so let’s talk about what we can do to stay hydrated. You all know how much I love to shop, and my favorite way to spend money is on some local love. Here is my must-get recommendation - @theshoehive sells BKR water bottles that are insulated glass bottles - perfect for hydration and environmentally friendly, and safer than plastics for you. Try to pace your water intake throughout the day. If you don’t like the taste of water (yes, I know you are out there), try adding hydration tablets from NUUN. You can pick those up at Whole Foods. Take these tips and get in your “high-quality H20!”
