8 signs of dehydration
As you know, a person is 80% water, which is involved in all processes in the body. At the same time, we lose fluid every day - as a result of sweating, breathing, urination. Insufficient replenishment (for any reason) can lead to dehydration (dehydration) of varying severity - both to mild thirst and to death. Dehydration occurs already with a loss of fluid in the amount of 1% of body weight. It is the task of everyone who cares about their health to notice the signs of dehydration in time and eliminate them.
Thirst attacks
The feeling of thirst is the first signal when fluid loss is 1-2% of body weight. As a rule, at this time, the implementation of some functions of the body is already limited, which is why such a condition may be accompanied by increased anxiety, headache, and bad breath. It is not difficult to eliminate mild dehydration - an abundant drink is enough, and it is advisable to drink plain water. A mild degree of dehydration is most often triggered by an improper drinking regime: excessive consumption of tea, coffee, diet, prolonged exposure to the sun without reimbursing fluid loss. To prevent discomfort, it is enough to drink at least 2 liters of pure water per day, increasing this amount as the load on the body increases.
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Dry mouth
The second symptom of dehydration is a feeling of dryness of the mucous membranes of the mouth, which, for example, visits people in a state of hangover who have gone too far with alcohol. Dry mouth caused by this and other causes of dehydration is often accompanied by increased saliva viscosity and bad breath.
Drinking alcohol directly leads to dehydration, since the oxidation of one ethyl alcohol molecule consumes several water molecules. According to doctors, this condition can be alleviated if you do not abuse alcohol and drink plenty of water before and after the holiday.
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Dry skin
As a rule, dry skin with dehydration manifests itself in the form of peeling, a feeling of tightness when washing, red spots on the skin, and sometimes even deep bleeding cracks. In this situation, it is worth distinguishing between the temporary state of the skin due to dehydration and its permanent type, due to congenital features. In addition, dry skin may be a sign of improper skin care (use of alkaline soap, improperly selected cosmetics) or some diseases - for example, diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, hypovitaminosis A. It is better to diagnose dehydration in the presence of dry skin in combination with its other symptoms - for example, joint pain and dry mouth.
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Body weakness
Weakness, nausea, dizziness are experienced by people who have lost 4-5% of their body weight. This level of dehydration is familiar to athletic runners and some office workers who prefer to drink coffee instead of clean water throughout the day. Fatigue can be accompanied by a change in complexion, the appearance of dark circles under the eyes, tremors of the hands, irritability, aggressiveness. To eliminate this condition, you need to lie down and, having made up for the lack of fluid in the body, rest for 4-8 hours.
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Itchy eyes
Symptoms of dehydration, such as itching, dry eyes, lack of tears, are caused by the drying out of the lacrimal tubules, which can cause significant damage to the state of the visual organs (in the form of corneal opacity, inflammation, etc.). It is especially important to pay attention to the listed symptoms and quickly prevent dehydration for people wearing contact lenses, since the material from which they are made absorbs well the tear film on the surface of the cornea, increasing the risk of damage to the organ of vision several times.
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Pain in joints and spine
The cartilage tissue in the body is 80% water, due to which the surface of the cartilage is slippery and provides ease of movement, together with the articular fluid, protecting the joints from contact even under intense stress. Dehydration of the body leads to the fact that friction between the surfaces of the bones united by the joint increases - and pain occurs when moving. Having felt a lack of fluid, it is important to prevent further deterioration of the condition, because then dehydration can cause the destruction of cartilaginous tissue and stop movement in the joint.
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Darkening of urine and decreased frequency of urination
With dehydration, the body simply has nothing to remove the products of its vital activity, so urine excretion decreases. Its dark yellow color is due to a high concentration of harmful substances that did not have time to leave the body. As a result of dehydration against the background of poisoning with toxins, weakness, drowsiness, nausea, and headaches can occur. We must not forget that a change in the color of urine is sometimes a symptom of not only dehydration, but also other diseases, for example, urinary tract infections, anemia, kidney and liver diseases, so it is better to entrust the diagnosis to a specialist.
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Digestive problems
For full-fledged work, the mucous membranes of the internal organs, not excluding the stomach, need constant moisture. Due to the lack of fluid in the body, the amount and density of mucus protecting the stomach is reduced, allowing the digestive juice to destroy its wall. Dehydration in this case can lead to heartburn, indigestion, impaired absorption of nutrients and other unpleasant consequences. A similar failure due to dehydration is given by the kidneys, weakening the cleansing function, blood vessels and the heart (decrease in systolic pressure), the brain (convulsions, hallucinations, coma) and other organs.
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It is important to remember that the loss of fluid by the body in an amount exceeding 8% of the body weight (can manifest itself in the form of nausea, dizziness, vomiting, convulsions) should be eliminated by doctors in a hospital setting.
It is much easier to prevent dehydration than to cure it - it is enough to consume 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day and carefully monitor the signals that the body gives.
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Maria Kulkes Medical journalist About the author
Education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, specialty "General Medicine".
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