Dehydration: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Dehydration: Check out the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

Losing of excess fluids from the body, predominantly water is called as dehydration. When your body loses fluids more than you are taking in, it is referred as dehydration. Human body is capable of losing body fluids through different processes including sweating, urination, defecation, and more. When the body is unable to replace the lost body fluids due to any reason, it is known as dehydration.

What Causes Dehydration?

As mentioned above, dehydration is caused by sweating, urination, defecation, and more. Some other causes of dehydration are:

• Tears

• Saliva

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Diabetes

• Kidney diseases

• Hot and humid temperature

• Consuming low Sodium diet

• Breast feeding

• Vigorous exercises

What are the Symptoms of Dehydration?

According to Mayo Clinic, following are some of the symptoms of dehydration:

• Feeling excessive thirst

• Constipation

• Dryness of skin

• Dizziness

• Passing dark colored urine

• Cramps in the muscles

• Frequent headaches

• Cramps in the muscles

• Chills

• Fatigue

• Less frequent urination

How Dehydration can be Diagnosed?

Dehydration, especially hypertonic dehydration can be diagnosed by following ways:

• Measuring the serum calcium levels.

• Measuring the blood urea nitrogen levels.

• Measuring the serum sodium levels.

• Measuring the blood glucose levels.

How To Prevent Dehydration?

Dehydration is often under looked by people. However, if left unattended, it can be fatal. According to Dr. Donald Kirby - Director of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Human Nutrition, "Dehydration should not be taken lightly, the condition is more than just being thirsty." 'Dehydration can kill'.

When a person is dehydrated, it is losing the vital body fluids, vitamins, electrolytes, and salts. If not treated on time, dehydration may cause brain damage, affect kidneys, and may even lead to death.

One of the best and effective ways to prevent dehydration is to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids.

Treatment of Dehydration

Dehydration is not a serious health condition, unless it is associated with some alarming symptoms like confusion, inability to move, and persistent weakness. One of the best ways to overcome dehydration is to stay as much rehydrated as possible.

In certain cases where dehydration symptoms are worsening, people require proper medical attention including intravenous (IV) hydration. There are different ways to stay hydrated like oral hydration by drinking water, sports drinks, electrolytes, and more.