Drink up for Dehydration

With the sun scorching to its utmost and temperature reaching 40 and beyond, the summer has started greeting the country with anger. At the current situation, our mind can only think of is water. This is the time when people thoroughly believe in the phrase 'water is life”
When the temperature surrounding us is too high, or if we are exercising, our body starts its own cooling mechanism by releasing sweat. This sweat vaporizes, helping our body to cool down.  But if we sweat too much, the normal level of water and ion concentration is disrupted, and our body starts to get dehydrated. Other then sweating, you can also become dehydrated as a result of an illness, such as persistent vomiting, diarrhea, or sweating from fever.
The term dehydration means loss of water. Water comprises about two-thirds of our body, so when water is lost from our body, either by sweating or by some other means, our body starts showing the following symptoms:
  feeling thirsty and lightheadedness
  rapid heart beat
  low blood pressure
  passing urine less often
  having dark coloured or strong smelling urine.    
 In case of toddlers, they show no tears, constant drowsiness, sunken eyes, fewer wet nappies
So the best way to avoid dehydration is simple, drink up, and get hydrated. Drinking plenty of water or eating food rich in water quantity is the best and the only treatment for dehydration. But, we have to remember that, water alone sometimes cannot help in recovery, rather excess water can sometimes be harmful, causing hypovolumia.
 
Things to remember:
 As water alone cannot replace the minerals that are lost due to profuse sweating, it is better to opt for saline in this hot weather, or when the body feels dehydrated. It is better to have fresh fruit juices to fill up the lost electrolytes and keep our body energetic.
 Drinking contaminated water can cause diseases like diarrhea or gastroenteritis. It is advisable to drink lots of water but make sure you drink a safe source.
  Senior citizens, children (in Bangladesh, 30% of child death occurs due to dehydration alone) and ill patients are more prone to dehydration than others, therefore they should be taken to the nearest GP in case the situation gets worse or if the patient is not recovering after oral rehydration therapy.
 It is advisable to avoid caffeinated drinks (tea, coffee) and alcohol as much as possible in the summer season, as they all are diuretics which increase urine output, which raises the amount of fluid loss.

The writer is a Project Research Physician of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B).