The water that enters our body, either in its liquid form or through food, is eliminated by several processes physiological conditions such as breathing, sweating, urine and feces. There is, however, a balance between what is ingested and what is eliminated so that the body remains functioning. THE dehydration it can be defined as a sharp decrease in the amount of water available in our body, which causes an imbalance.
→ Causes of dehydration
The causes of dehydration are diverse, highlighting the gastrointestinal losses, such as diarrhea and vomiting, the skin loss, caused, for example, by burns and sweating, losses from the genital and urinary system and insufficient water intake.
Some water losses normally occur without causing problems, such as breathing and perspiration. However, on hot days or when exercising, these losses can become accentuated. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to hydration during hot days and when performing some physical activities.
→ Signs and symptoms of dehydration
Right at the beginning of dehydration, when a person loses, on average, 2% of body weight, the feeling of thirst. In the beginning, weakness, drowsiness and fatigue are also common. As the amount of water decreases, the mucous membranes become dry, as does the skin, which also loses its elasticity.
In the most severe cases of dehydration, there is also fever, absence of urine, tachycardia, postural hypotension (pressure drop when the person is sitting and standing up or lying down and sitting down) weak pulse, blurred vision, slow comprehension and even coma and death. The latter case occurs when the person has lost 15% of body weight.
→ Types of dehydration
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
Loss of water is usually accompanied by loss of electrolytes. The analysis of the relationship between water lost and the amount of electrolytes allows classification into three types of dehydration:
Isotonic dehydration: Most common type of dehydration occurs when water and minerals are lost in the same proportion. This type of dehydration is common in cases of vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding.
Hypertonic dehydration: It occurs when more water is lost than electrolytes. This type of dehydration happens, for example, with diabetics, people who use diuretics and those who drink little water.
Hypotonic dehydration: It occurs when more salts are lost than water. This type of dehydration, which is the most serious, is common when there is high sweating, malnutrition and when fluid replacement is done with just water.
→ Dehydration treatment
Dehydration treatment depends on the patient's degree of involvement, in addition to the type of dehydration presented. Treatment is usually done by administering water or saline aqueous solutions orally, intravenously or subcutaneously. In the case of oral administration, water can be offered in free form, in the form of drinks, such as juices, or foods with a large amount of water.
→ Prevention of dehydration
Dehydration can be prevented with very simple steps. Here are some of these ways to prevent:
→ Drink at least two liters of water daily, especially on hot days;
→ Hydrate when performing physical activities;
→ Hydrate when you have problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. In this case, it is important to ingest an oral hydration solution so that salts are also replaced;
→ Wash food and hands well to avoid gastrointestinal problems.
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos