Do you often have the feeling of a fish baking in the sun? Many people live in a constant state of mild dehydration and do not even know they have a problem. In today’s “rat race world” people are always on the go. Everyone has somewhere to be and something to do and often something they are late for. The last thing on their mind is Drinking Water.

Most people do not realize many of their “bad feelings” come from lack of water. Everyone knows if you get dehydrated like a prune you will get sick and if it goes on for a long time, you can have lasting effects on your health. In extreme situations like wandering in the desert, you can even die of exposure and dehydration.

But what many people do not realize is that even being slightly dehydrated can cause physical symptoms. Some of the most common signs of dehydration, people pass off as just not feeling good today. When in fact they have an underlying medical issue. They are dehydrated.

Please note: We are NOT doctors. We are NOT giving you medical advice or telling you how to diagnose or treat anything. This talk is for information use only.

We started this talk and realized that it was going to be far too long so we decided to break it up into two parts. We hope this will make for easier reading and taking in the info provided.

We will give you an overview of how much water you should be drinking and why?

Drinking Water: Going Down the Rabbit Hole Part 1

1. What is dehydration

2. Common signs of dehydration

3. How to fix dehydration

4. What you should be drinking

5. What not to drink

6. How you get dehydrated in the first place

Drinking Water: Going Down the Rabbit Hole Part 2

7. How much water the average person needs daily

8. For Emergency Situations: How much water to keep on hand

9. Long-Term Emergency Care

10. Alternative to using water for non-drinking needs

So Drinking Water: Here we go down the rabbit hole.

1. What is dehydration anyway?

The medical definition of dehydration is long and wordy. According to NHS Inform https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/nutritional/dehydration

Dehydration occurs when your body loses more fluid than you take in.

When the normal water content of your body is reduced, it upsets the balance of minerals (salts and sugar) in your body, which affects the way it functions.

Water makes up over two-thirds of the healthy human body. It lubricates the joints and eyes, aids digestion, flushes out waste and toxins, and keeps the skin healthy.

Basically, you dehydrate when you lose more fluids from your body that you take in for a number of reasons and causing a number of symptoms.

2. Some of the most common symptoms of dehydration:

Feeling Thirsty is the most obvious one. But once your body tells you that you are thirsty, you are already a bit dehydrated.

Itchy, Dry Eyes

Dry Mouth/Cotton Mouth: With this, the mucus membranes in your mouth are drying out.

Bloody Nose: Again, the mucus membranes are drying out and become fragile, this can lead to a nosebleed.

Headaches

Light Headed spells

Fatigue

Dry Cough: again, the mucus membranes in the throat are drying out

Muscle Cramp: After a workout or at night. Without proper hydration, the muscles can not work properly.

Lack of Focus

Dry Skin: Yes dry skin can be caused by not drinking enough water. Your skin cells do not get enough water so they can not keep their moisture level. Your skin can get dry and flaky.

Low Blood Pressure: In some cases.

No Appetite

Being Flushed, Over Heated, Or even getting Chills

All of these things can be caused by dehydration. Not that everyone has all of these signs or that these signs are only caused by dehydration. If you find you have any or all of these symptoms, you may want to see a doctor to find out what is going on with you. If it is a simple case of mild dehydration, it is fairly simple to fix.

3. How do you fix dehydration?

Is there a quick fix for being dehydrated? Yes, drinking water. Simply, take in more fluids. It seems very simple and it is. But most people just do not get enough water in their everyday diets. We are not talking about dieting. We are simply referring to the everyday intake of food and drink to keep your body and mind healthy.

4. What should you drink to replenish your fluids?

Drink Water, is the first and best way to fix the issue.

Milk is a way to quickly fix dehydration. Of course, water, herbal tea, and coffee are all good to replenish your fluid level. There are a number of drinks available if you do not fancy plain water. Pedialyte and other electrolyte drinks are made specifically for such situations. Coconut water is very good as are other fruit juices. Fresh fruits such as watermelon, strawberries, and cucumbers are also a good way to take in water and curb your hunger at the same time.

If you need some ideas on making water drinking more fun, we have another talk that may be of interest to you. Check out Water Thinking Out Side the Box: Ways to make drinking water more fun, pleasant, and flavorful.

5. What not to drink:

Alcohol

sweetened cocktail drinks

colas

powdered drink mixes

cool-aid type mixes

coffee creamer (that was a surprise)

flavored and sweetened waters

fruit juices with added sugar

energy shot drinks

too much coffee (that one hurts our feelings)

6. How do you get dehydrated in the first place?

You did not drink enough water.

Every day people lose water from their bodies just by being alive. That is just a process of the human body. Every time you cry, spit, sweat, and do other body things you are losing fluids. The thing is normally the human body will replenish its fluid levels with other normal, everyday things. Eating, drinking, swimming, bathing, and other such activities add fluid to the body.

So How do you get dehydrated?

If you are out on a hot day, working on the farm and sweating like a hog. You may get a bit dehydrated.

The most common way is an illness. Having a fever and sweating a lot.

Vomiting

Loose bowels

Diabetes

Some medications can cause you to lose more water than you should. If you are taking fluid pills and the like, keep that in mind. Not saying not to take them, just keep in mind that you need to replenish more fluids.

Sleeping with your mouth open. NO joke, mouth breathing, and snoring cause you to lose a small percentage of water. It is not much and no one has actually died from mouth breathing. But if you are looking at your water level in percentages, it adds up.

This is just a quick list of possible reasons for dehydration. There are no doubt many others.

That is it for Drinking Water: Going Down the Rabbit Hole Part 1. We hope this talk has given you some useful info. Please come back for Drinking Water: Going Down the Rabbit Hole Part 2.

Thank you for visiting and please come again for another edition of Out Standing in the Field.