Last Updated on May 27, 2020
What Is Dehydration?
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Dehydration occurs when your organism loses more fluid than you take in. This imbalance can even stop your body from carrying out some essential functions. Some common causes of dehydration include diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating, and increased urination. These causes may or may not be related to an underlying health condition such as a virus or uncontrolled diabetes, for example. But it can also happen if you don’t drink enough water when exposed to hot weather conditions or during intense physical activity.
Signs and symptoms of dehydration:
- Dry mouth
- Fatigue
- Dry skin
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Decreased urination
- Excessive thirst
In extreme cases of dehydration, you need to seek medical attention immediately. Symptoms of severe cases include (in addition to the symptoms described above) low blood pressure, rapid heart rate and breathing, convulsions, severe cramping, digestion problems, dark urine, shriveled skin, sunken eyes, and lack of sweat production.
Why Does It Affect The Elders So Much And Why Is It So Dangerous?
There are several reasons that make the elderly not only more susceptible to dehydration, but also more vulnerable to the health complications that dehydration could bring.
First of all, as people age, the body loses water. The proportion of total body fluids to body weight is about 8% less on people over the age of 60 in comparison to those under the age of 40. This decrease is caused by the loss of muscle mass that comes with aging. Kidney health also deteriorates over time, affecting the organ’s ability to filter blood and remove toxins. This makes the urine less concentrated, thus increasing water loss.
On another level, we have the fact that the elderly do not feel thirsty as rapidly. So in most cases, when they finally do, they are already at least slightly dehydrated. To make it worse, most seniors have underlying health conditions and chronic illnesses that increase the risk of dehydration, and many of the prescribed medication that they take have listed dehydration as a common side effect (like diuretics).
On top of everything we have already mentioned, persistent dehydration can also affect the nervous system and cause confusion and memory loss, difficulty walking, heat injury, urinary and kidney problems, seizures, or even hypovolemic shock.
Given all this, the fact that dehydration affects this particular risk group so heavily is not surprising. In addition to being able to identify its mild symptoms properly, caregivers and seniors should also take the necessary preventive measures to avoid dehydration.
Here are four great tips that can help:
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