Common Signs Of Dehydration

Keeping your body hydrated is vital because it helps the cells remove waste and absorb nutrients. However, if you get dehydrated, you’re endangering yourself. Dehydration occurs when your body can’t carry out normal functions because of a lack of fluids. This situation happens when you lose more water than what you’re taking.  

Both children and adults can experience dehydration if you don’t immediately replenish lost fluids. However, dehydration is more dangerous when experienced by children, especially when it results in vomiting and severe diarrhea.  

Older adults who have lower water volume are at risk of dehydration, mostly because of medications and medical conditions. Older adults who have bladder or lung infections are also prone to dehydration.  

If you’re unsure whether you or your loved one is experiencing dehydration, you can check these symptoms as reference: 

1. Unconsciousness 

As mentioned, severe dehydration requires immediate medical attention. One of the signs of such is when the person becomes unconscious.  It’s because your blood pressure drops due to the decrease in your blood volume, resulting from severe or moderate dehydration. Your blood won’t be able to carry enough nutrients and oxygen to your organs and body tissues with such a condition. If this happens, you’ll surely pass out due to a lack of oxygen in your brain.  

To compensate for the decrease in your blood volume, your heart will keep pumping blood more quickly. With this, you can pass out because your heart can’t keep up with your body fluids. 

Before getting unconscious, you may feel dizzy, confused, or weak. Some may even feel lousy or experience a throbbing head. In worst cases, they won’t feel any signs and will just pass out.  

Since passing out due to dehydration is dangerous, you should immediately call 911 or head straight to the ER. That way, proper medical treatment will be given. The doctors will rehydrate you with electrolytes, like DripDrop, or water if your vitals indicate dehydration. This treatment will be suitable for persons who don’t have any other medical condition. However, if this incident often occurs or is not treated immediately, one may undergo seizures due to lack of electrolytes or heat stroke, especially if you’ve been doing vigorous activities. 

2. Fever And Chills 

If your skin feels cool, but you’re sweating profusely, these may be symptoms of dehydration. If you have a fever, this may even worsen dehydration, especially if your fever is high. Your skin will become dry to the touch, flushed, and hot as it loses its cool clamminess significantly if your body temperature decreases. For adults who have a temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s advisable to seek medical attention.  As for infants and children, they can lose more fluids when they have a fever.  

For chills, you may experience feeling cold without any reason. You’ll know it’s chills when the vessels in your skin constrict and your muscles repeatedly contract and expand. You may also experience this if you have a fever.  

If you experience chills and fever simultaneously without apparent reason, go to the ER immediately. 

3. Rapid Breathing And Heartbeat 

Heavy breathing is expected after finishing a physically taxing activity, but it becomes an issue if it’s a sign of dehydration. It’s because when your body doesn’t have enough fluids, you can’t provide enough energy to your cells, causing breathing changes. So, when you notice a difficulty in breathing after an extensive physical activity, consider it a possible symptom of dehydration. 

In addition, you may even feel heart palpitations or rapid heart rate. You’ll feel you’re skipping a beat or your heart is jumping. This abnormal heartbeat is the result of your heart trying to compensate for your low body fluids.  

If you lack body fluids, your blood vessels will have a decreased volume of blood, which makes it hard to transport blood to your body’s organs. That’s why your heart will pump more blood to compensate for such loss, resulting in an increased heart rate.  

4. Dry Skin 

Another symptom of dehydration is dry skin due to a lack of fluids; although it can appear like dull skin, dehydrated skin is quite different. Even if your skin type is oily, you can still experience such when your body is dehydrated. You’ll know if your skin is dehydrated if it loses elasticity and wrinkles start appearing.  

You can also try the pinch test to know if you’re dehydrated. The first step is to pinch a small amount of skin at the back of your hand, chest, abdomen, or cheek. Then, hold it for a few seconds. If your skin doesn’t snap back, you’re likely dehydrated, especially if it takes more than a second for your skin to bounce back.  To make sure, you can repeat the process in other areas. 

5. Very Dark Urine 

Another aspect you should look out for when you suspect dehydration is your urine because its color can tell a lot about your hydration levels. You’re hydrated if the color of your urine is Your kidneys can tell if your body has water depletion. If you have less water in your body, your urine becomes darker and more concentrated.  

A clear to pale yellow urine color means you’re well-hydrated, while transparent to light yellow also means you’re still in the ideal hydration status. If the color is pale honey, you need to rehydrate soon, although the hydration status is normal. 

Your body may need water if the color is yellow and cloudier. If it’s an amber color or a darker yellow, this isn’t healthy at all. Moreover, if your urine’s color is darker, such as orange-yellow, you may be severely dehydrated; thus, you should proceed to the ER or call your doctor. 

Conclusion 

When you know you haven’t taken enough fluids, you should be wary of dehydration signs. Some may experience them all at once, while others only experience one or two. One of the signs indicating a really bad case of dehydration is unconsciousness, which needs medical attention as soon as possible. Fever and chills may also indicate severe dehydration as these can even increase the loss of water in your body. Sometimes, fever is even the cause of dehydration.

Whenever you experience such signs, you should immediately rehydrate and seek medical attention.