Dehydration means your body loses more fluids than you take in. If it's not treated, it can get worse and become a serious problem. Babies, children and the elderly are more at risk of dehydration. Symptoms of dehydration in adults and
children include: Dehydration can happen more easily if you have: Drink fluids when you feel any dehydration symptoms. If you find it hard to drink because you feel sick or have been sick, start with small sips and then gradually drink more. You can use a spoon to make it easier for your child to swallow the fluids. You should drink enough during the day so your pee is a pale clear colour. Drink when there's a higher risk of dehydrating. For example, if you're vomiting, sweating or you have diarrhoea. This video shows you how you can reduce the risk of dehydration.
Media last reviewed: 1 July 2020 Important: Important
Check if you're dehydrated
How you can reduce the risk of dehydration
Video: how to prevent dehydration
Media review due: 1 July 2023
Carers: making sure someone drinks enough
Sometimes people you care for do not have a sense of how much they're drinking.
To help them:
- make sure they drink during mealtimes
- make drinking a social thing, like "having a cup of tea"
- offer them food with a high water content – for example, soups, ice cream or jellies, or fruits like melon
A pharmacist can help with dehydration
If you're being sick or have diarrhoea and are losing too much fluid, you need to put back the sugar, salts and minerals that your body has lost.
Your pharmacist can recommend oral rehydration sachets. These are powders that you mix with water and then drink.
Ask your pharmacist which ones are right for you or your child.
Find a pharmacy
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
- your symptoms do not improve with treatment
Immediate action required: Call 999 or go to A&E if:
- you're feeling unusually tired
- you're confused and disorientated
- any dizziness when you stand up does not go away
- you have not peed all day
- your pulse is weak or rapid
- you have fits (seizures)
These can be signs of serious dehydration that need urgent treatment.
Under-5s with dehydration
The under-5s should get plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
It's quite common for young children to become dehydrated. It can be serious if it's not dealt with quickly.
Urgent advice: Take your baby or child to the GP urgently or go to A&E if they:
- seem drowsy
- breathe fast
- have few or no tears when they cry
- have a soft spot on their head that sinks inwards (sunken fontanelle)
- have a dry mouth
- have dark yellow pee or have not had a pee in last 12 hours
- have cold and blotchy-looking hands and feet
Once the dehydration has been treated, your child will need to maintain their fluid levels.
GPs usually advise:
Do
carry on breastfeeding or using formula – try to give small amounts more often than usual
for babies on formula or solid foods – give them small sips of extra water
give small children their usual diet
give regular small sips of rehydration solution to replace lost fluids, salts and sugars – ask your pharmacist to recommend one
Don’t
do not make formula weaker
do not give young children fruit juice or fizzy drinks – it makes things like diarrhoea or vomiting worse
Page last reviewed: 09 August 2019
Next review due: 09 August 2022
If you have severe raleigh dehydration, you will likely be hospitalized and placed on intravenous hydration for up to 24 hours to recover or until you are able to drink enough fluid on your own. When you are severely
dehydrated, you need to replace a high volume of fluid. The fluid also needs to be balanced you’re your body’s normal nutrients. If you become severely dehydrated and quickly replace the water in your body, it can cause your body to go into shock. It is important to take your time and pace yourself. When dehydration levels are less sever but still serious, it is possible that you will only be drinking oral rehydration fluids (ORS). The CDC recommendations drinking up to 1 liter of
ORS fluid per hour for an adult, and children 20ml / kg of body weight for patients suffering from dehydration due to Cholera. When you lose more fluids from your body you take in, you are dehydrated. This often happens when you have the stomach flu in addition to diarrhea or when alcohol is consumed. When you are dehydrated, you body cannot function normally. As a result, you can experience various symptoms associated with dehydration which include: There are different levels of dehydration including mild, moderate and severe. If you experience severe dehydration symptoms, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. When mild or moderate dehydration is treated, it can be
taken care of almost immediately. If dehydration is not treated through increased consumption of water, or in some cases, the consumption of electrolytes, the dehydration can last indefinitely. If it progresses and becomes sever enough, it is possible to die from dehydration. People can go for weeks without eating food, however, only a few days without consuming water. According to a study from the New York Times, a reported 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Chronic dehydration
means the daily requirement for water intake is not being met and people remain in a dehydrated state for extended periods of time. Once this state of dehydration is reached, recovering from dehydration requires a complete overhaul of your routine. It is important to make it a priority and daily habit to consume a sufficient amount of water. Hydrant was created to be an effective way to quickly recover from dehydration. It meets the World Health Organization guidelines for an oral
rehydration solutions (ORS). An ORS has nearly three times the amount of electrolytes of a traditional sports drink and only contains 6 grams of sugar. Drinking an adequate amount of water each day can be hard for a variety of reasons. The goal of Hydrant is to make staying hydrated easier. This oral rehydration solution contains electrolytes such as sodium, potassium and magnesium which closely mimic the body's natural makeup of electrolytes. When the body loses large amounts of water, it
often time loses electrolytes. If only the water is replaced without electrolytes, there is an increased imbalance in the body. Hydrant allows you to quickly replenish and rehydrate your body through the use of a solution that mimics the biological balance of electrolytes and water. More on Dehydration : Should I Go To Urgent Care for Dehydration?Dehydration Symptoms