Dehydration

It’s a condition where the body, which is almost 2/3 of water, suddenly, faces a terrifying condition, due to loss of huge amount of water. The imbalance of the chemical substances in the body and the concentration changes lead to dehydration. The condition can have fatal consequences in case of infants. Babies, infants and old people normally tend to suffer from this condition. If the condition of dehydration worsens, it’s advisable to take medical treatment as early as possible, since the condition can deteriorate very fast. People suffering from dehydration need to take one glass of water with a pinch of salt in it to get temporary relief.

Symptoms

Dehydration is referred, when there is 1% or more than that, loss in water levels of body. The symptoms are tagged into different categories, with mild being losses between 1-2% in body weight, moderate when there is be a 3-5% of weight loss and severe dehydration where a sudden loses of 5% in the body weight. These are dangerous conditions, and anything like 10% can be an extremely serious condition which can have sudden outcomes. Common signs or symptoms are headaches, chapped lips, dry eyes, dizziness, tiredness, feeling of empty stomach and concentrated dark urine. For infants and babies between age ranges of 3-4 years, the scalp gets sunken, eyes get pale. People between ages ranging from 18-40 years may observe that the colour of their urine changes to yellow as well as quantity of the urine reduces. If the dehydration continues, kidneys are the most affected part of the body. In some cases, it may leave a stone in the kidneys. Also climate changes and extreme summers are when people are most likely to get affected with the condition.

Causes

It is caused by losing fluids from the body and essential salts due to which the balance of the body changes all of a sudden. This can happen due to illness causing diarrhoea or vomiting. High intake of alcohol can also lead to the condition. Due to heat stroke, also a person may suffer from Dehydration.

Diagnosis

The symptoms are such that the diagnosis of the problem does not take much time. The other major factor to highlight the condition is change in body mass. At the time of treatment, doctor, may want to take into consideration, some factors like climate, diet and the kind of physical activity a person has been doing and seeing through. Also the urine is diagnosed for finding the extent of problem. A variation from normal level indicates that the person has been suffering from dehydration.

Treatment

One should not drink too much of water which can create even more trouble during this condition. A sweet drink like a cola may be useful to restore the sugar and chemical levels. Also for severe dehydration, hospitalization may also be needed, urgently. In case of a heat stroke, home treatment or doctor’s prescription is advisable. As per home treatment; drink as much as water in the form of glucose or salty lemon water which can help in relieving the symptoms.

Prevention

One can avoid the condition by drinking more water on daily basis. Also semi-skimmed milk, diluted fruit juices are useful for the body. During weather changes also the care should be taken about the intake of water and it’s always a good policy to keep the body well hydrated.