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Dehydration Health Tips Summer tips

The Major Causes of Dehydration

Explain in detail about Dehydration :

Dehydration is a situation where your body doesn’t have enough fluids and water content. It is a situation where water loss exceeds water intake. Water in the body may be lost due to exercises, sweat, vomiting and so on. Water is very important to our body, our body contains about two third of water, every cell and organ in our body depends on water, dehydration upset the balance and our body cannot function well, dehydration may also lead to problems like headache, kidney failure, urinary problems and so on. Dehydration can be mild, moderate or severe depending on the water loss.

dehydration

Water in our body performs important functions like

  • Flushes out waste and toxins
  • Controls BP and heart rate
  • Controls body temperature
  • Creates saliva
  • Lubricates joints

Causes of dehydration :

We lose water every day through body functions such as breathing, walking, sweating and exercise. Dehydration is caused by several conditions like

  • High fever
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Exercise
  • Heat exposure
  • Exercise and sweat
  • Diabetes
  • Frequent urination due to infections
  • Inability to drink water or fluids.

Dehydration causes various skin problems such as dry skin, eczema, psoriasis, discolouration and premature wrinkles. Dehydration also causes hair loss, adequate water intake is needed for hair cells to transport nutrients and vitamins to the hair root which directly effects hair growth.

Symptoms of Dehydration :

Some basic symptoms include

  • Feeling thirsty and lightheaded
  • Dry mouth
  • Tiredness
  • Dark coloured urine
  • Dizziness
  • Fainting
  • Constipation
  • Headache
  • Dry skin

How it affects people :

Anyone can become dehydrated irrespective of age and gender. Dehydration is common in summer due to increased temperature. Dehydration can be life threatening if not treated on time. In dehydration our body becomes weak and tired, it increases body temperature, and increase heart beat. Dehydration causes kidney failure, obesity. Dehydration effects person’s mood, energy level and ability to think. Sports persons are more likely to get dehydrated from lot of physical activity as they lose water as sweat, playing outdoor causes sunstroke and dehydration. A mild dehydration can also affect sport persons physical and mental performance; to overcome these problems and to be fit they need to take fluids and juices regularly.

Tips to avoid Dehydration :

Drink plenty of water every day when you’re going out, the weather is hot or exercising. Coconut water is a power house of vitamins, minerals and electrolytes; One should constantly drink fluids not occasionally.
Take foods with high water content. Avoid taking spicy food, as it leads to acidity, heart burn and dehydration. Taking fruits in your diet helps in preventing dehydration. Fruits like watermelon, grapes, pineapple, oranges which have high water content help in coming out of dehydration.
Curd/yogurt, buttermilk, lemon water, juices, cucumber, mixed green salad helps to keep us hydrated. Dressing according to the weather helps in avoiding sweat and dehydration. Take a bottle of water whenever you are stepping out of the house and drink enough water. Staying properly hydrated indicates that our bodyis well functioning.