Signs of Dehydration in Children and Adults

How much water did you drink today? Two thirds of the human body is fluid. So, your body needs enough water to function optimally. But how do you realize that your body is experiencing a lack of fluids? What signs of dehydration will your body feel?

What is dehydration?

Dehydration is a condition in which your body loses more fluids than the fluids that enter your body. This imbalance in fluid levels in the body can affect the levels of other substances in your body, such as salt and sugar levels, which may cause the blood to clot.

Unfortunately, often you feel thirsty only when you are already dehydrated. In fact, the symptoms that arise when a person is dehydrated can vary depending on their age.

Signs of dehydration in children

Children are generally more susceptible to dehydration because of their tiny bodies, so that there is less fluid reserves in their bodies than adults. Dehydrated children can be caused by several conditions, such as having a fever (the water contained in the body will evaporate more when your body temperature is high), experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or sweating a lot while playing (supported by exposure to temperatures that are high). height from the sun).

If your child has a condition as mentioned above, you should be aware of the symptoms that will follow afterward, such as:

Drying of the tongue and mouth
Absence of tears when crying
Eyes and cheeks that appear sunken inward
Dark yellow color of urine, decreased volume and frequency of urination, or even not urinating for 6-8 hours
Dry skin
Dizziness, feeling shaky, unstable, or what is often referred to as wobbling
Feelings of easily tired and sleepy
Increased heart rate
In some children, dehydration can even cause unconsciousness.

Signs of dehydration in adults

Some of the conditions that cause adults to become dehydrated include fever, exposure to high temperatures, too much activity to end up sweating in high amounts, and vomiting and diarrhea. In addition, adults can also become dehydrated due to other conditions such as increased urine output due to a certain infection and skin injury (water in the body can also be lost from damaged skin).

If you have conditions like those mentioned above, you will be more prone to dehydration. Most of the symptoms of dehydration in adults are similar to the signs of dehydration experienced by children. But in certain conditions, an adult can also be indicated to be dehydrated, if they experience symptoms:

1. Bad breath. A cardiologist Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, John Higgins, revealed that, dehydration causes your body to produce saliva in less volume. Not having enough saliva in your mouth can lead to the development of bacteria in your mouth, followed by an unpleasant smell from your mouth.

2. Muscle cramps. As previously mentioned, reduced fluid levels in your body can have an impact on other levels of content in the body. This reduction in fluids in the body will have an impact on electrolytes in your body, then affect the salt and potassium content in the body which can cause muscle cramps effects.

3. Desiring certain foods, especially sweet foods. When your body has decreased fluids, your liver will have difficulty producing glycogen, which is the end product of processing sugar in the body. As a result, your body craves for what is often sugary foods.

Check with your doctor, if …

Many literatures say that the body needs at least two liters of water or about eight full glasses per day. But actually, many factors can determine the amount of water your body needs, such as your health condition, your environmental condition, to the activities you do. But more than all that, check with your doctor immediately, if you or your child shows symptoms of dehydration: