Did you know that thirst is the first sign of dehydration? While it’s ideal to wait until you’re hungry to eat, the same is not exactly true for getting your fluids. But, thankfully, thirst is the front line symptom. Heed its warning and dehydration can be easily remedied.

If that first sign of dehydration isn’t heeded, dehydration can become a dangerous situation. And it could become dangerous rather quickly depending on the circumstances. What are these potential circumstances?

  • Sickness: If you are ill, you may not have any desire to drink anything. A high fever can sap your body of needed fluids, as well as vomiting and diarrhea.
  • Busyness: Life can certainly get busy. If finding the time to eat is a struggle, drinking water may slip your mind entirely.
  • Lack of access: Camping, hiking, or traveling without packing sufficient water can be very dangerous.
  • Excess sweating: In the summertime especially, heavy sweating can quickly lead to dangerous levels of dehydration.
  • Increased urination: A sudden uptick in trips to the restroom could be related to diabetes or a reaction to medication. Whatever the case, dehydration could be an accompanying issue.

Symptoms of Dehydration

We’ve already established that thirst is the first symptom you’ll notice. We all get thirsty on a daily basis. But how can you know if you’ve reached a more dangerous level of dehydration? Here’s how:

Mild

Beyond thirst, you may also experience dry lips and mouth, fatigue, headache, muscle weakness, irritability, darker urine, decreased urine output.

Moderate

In the case of moderate dehydration, the mild symptoms would be more severe. Additionally, you could experience sunken eyes (in the case of an infant, the soft spot on his/her head could be sunken, too), cramping, stiff or painful joints, few to no tears when crying, and your skin doesn’t bounce back quickly when pinched.

Severe

At this point, fatigue will have reached the lethargy point. You may also experience blue lips, blotchy skin, dizziness, confusion, rapid breathing, high fever, cold extremities, low blood pressure, rapid and weak pulse.

If you or someone you love experience any of the more severe symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. Dehydration can be fatal if not treated.

Complications

The symptoms sound dangerous enough. But here are a few things that could happen if dehydration is left unchecked:

  • Heat Injury: This can occur if you’re exercising or working in the heat and you do not keep up with your liquid intake. You could experience heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or the potentially fatal heat stroke.
  • Seizures: When your electrolytes are out of balance as a result of dehydration, the electrical messages that electrolytes help to carry to and from your cells can get all out of wack. This could lead to involuntary muscle spasms and even loss of consciousness.
  • Kidney failures: If your kidneys are no longer able to remove excess fluids from your blood, you’re looking at a life-threatening situation.
  • Brain swelling: Sometimes the sudden intake of fluids after dehydration can cause your body to over-replenish your cells. This leads to swelling which is very dangerous if it occurs in the brain.
  • Low blood volume shock: This is a very serious complication that could lead to very low blood pressure and oxygen levels.

Our Favorite Remedy

Here at Amberwood Terrace Chiropractic, we are firm believers in prevention. A healthy lifestyle can combat all sorts of illnesses before they have a chance to attack. In the case of dehydration, we believe only the very best water will do to keep you well hydrated all day, every day.

The best kind of water comes through a Kangen Water filter. This incredible device takes your average tap water and turns it into liquid perfection. You can set your Kangen Water device to give you varying degrees of ionized alkaline water all the way to acidic.

With Kangen Water, you’ll know that you’re giving your body the very best kind of hydration. And it’s delicious to boot. Prevent dehydration with Kangen Water!

For more information about Kangen Water, contact Dr. Derrick Hendricks today!