Dehydration cannot be attributed to an independent disease, in most cases it is the end result of some serious pathology. There is always a risk of such a problem, regardless of gender and age. Dehydration, or dehydration, is the loss of a significant amount of fluid from the body, which can lead to serious consequences in the future. As you know, the human body is seventy percent water. If it leaves the body, it is easy to guess that the process adversely affects he alth. As a result, there are malfunctions in the work of internal organs and the body as a whole. The metabolism suffers greatly, and the pathology develops very quickly. Therefore, it is necessary to know about effective ways to treat dehydration in order to prevent complications.
Why is this process developing?
As already noted, water makes up the vast majority of the human body. Fluid is necessary not only for digestion and lubrication of the joints, but also for the removal of unwanted products, waste products and toxins from the body. Without enough water, it becomes difficult to breathe, because the lungs constantly need moisture to be satiated.oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. If the fluid stops flowing into the body, a person can live from three to ten days, depending on the state of he alth, physical activity and environmental temperature.
Dehydration is fatal, regardless of the weather. If a person loses a large amount of water in a short period of time, and then starts to replenish the reserves too intensively, there is a possibility of swelling. This situation is also unfavorable and can lead to irreversible consequences.
Let's look at the main causes of dehydration:
- excessive sweating, little water intake;
- severe vomiting, frequent urination, heat stroke;
- diabetes mellitus, Addison's disease.
An interesting fact to note is that body temperature and dehydration are related. If the first indicator rises due to a certain kind of disease, fluid loss increases.
Classification
In medicine, there are three main types of fluid loss, depending on its nature:
- Isoosmolar. Here, dehydration occurs simultaneously with the loss of electrolytes through the digestive system, respiratory organs and skin. Such dehydration is characteristic of infectious diseases and the presence of multiple lesions with bleeding.
- Hypersmolar. In this case, the loss of water exceeds the loss of electrolytes. Accordingly, the signs of dehydration of the human body will be slightly differentcompared to the first kind. Dehydration is characterized by insufficient fluid intake associated with the characteristics of the diet.
- Hypoosmolar. The opposite of the previous type: more electrolytes are lost than liquid. Loss mainly occurs through the gastrointestinal tract, skin and kidneys.
In all situations without exception, the patient needs urgent medical care, sometimes even in the intensive care unit.
Degrees of dehydration
The disease in question often develops in cases where a low level of fluid intake is recorded. Determine the threshold in comparison with excreted urine and then. If the last indicator exceeds the first, then we can safely say that there is a serious problem.
Specialists distinguish several main degrees:
- mild degree, when the rate of water loss does not exceed three percent and, in fact, does not pose a threat to human he alth;
- medium degree - about six percent of fluid is lost here, which provokes minor problems;
- severe degree - we can talk about significant damage to he alth, because the rate of fluid loss here is about nine percent;
- critical degree - loss is equivalent to ten percent or more, which in most cases leads to death.
Signs of dehydration in an adult appear differently depending on the type and severity of the disease. Of course, in the first stage of symptoms, almost no onewill notice. And if we talk about a critical degree, then sometimes it’s simply impossible to do anything.
Signs of dehydration
The first signal that something is not right in the body is the appearance of thirst. Usually, with such an ailment, a person wants to drink constantly, which directly indicates a lack of water. An even more accurate measure of fluid level is the amount and color of urine. In the case of a small amount of discharge and the presence of a dark yellow tint, there is a high probability of a lack of fluid.
The main signs of dehydration include:
- Feeling constantly thirsty, dry mouth and throat;
- similar situation, meaning dryness associated with skin, tongue and mucous membranes;
- continuous headaches and dizziness;
- viscous saliva, urination disorder, loss of appetite;
- psychological problems, expressed in causeless fears, unreasonable loss of mood, irritability, nervousness;
- absent-mindedness, general weakness in the body, loss of strength;
- pain in the joints and muscles, internal organs, the presence of convulsions;
- feeling of lack of air, periodically the client begins to suffocate, the voice changes to a quieter and hoarse one, the upper and lower limbs become numb, body temperature and blood pressure drop significantly.
If the above symptoms are ignored, complications may develop. Among the most common areswelling of the brain, hypovolemic shock, loss of electrolytes leads to convulsions. If everything is sad, a coma and a fatal outcome follow.
Dehydration in a child
Loss of a significant amount of fluid is a dangerous situation for adults and the elderly, and for children it automatically becomes a life-threatening situation. Here, all the attention of parents should be riveted to the child. Dad and mom are required to watch the baby, notice changes in appearance, etc. Dehydration in a child, as well as in an adult, can lead to death.
Special attention should be paid to the manifestation of symptoms. In children, first of all, with the loss of fluid, it detects dry mouth and a sluggish general condition. A rather remarkable feature is the absence of tears when crying. In addition, the child often refuses to eat, his appetite disappears, urination becomes rare, the liquid comes out in a small amount. Symptoms include increased heart rate and fever. If there are signs, you can make a preliminary conclusion about the presence of the disease.
Therapy should be started as soon as possible so that implementation can begin quickly. If you find signs of water loss in the body, you should immediately call an ambulance and wait for the arrival of qualified doctors.
Diagnosis
After the patient fell into the hands of specialists, they begin a study to identify the disease. To begin with, an anamnesis and an external examination of the patient are carried out. Already at this stage, doctors may have suspicionsfor fluid loss. The most characteristic external signs of dehydration in an adult are sunken eyes and reduced elasticity of the skin. Polling a patient in a question-answer format is also very informative.
In the process of communication, the doctor receives information about the frequency of urination and the amount of fluid released, which is very important. The specialist then measures blood pressure and heart rate. At this stage, it is already possible to confirm the diagnosis of dehydration.
Sometimes, even after identifying the problem, the doctor prescribes additional measures to determine the severity of the disease. Quite effectively they showed themselves: a laboratory blood test, a urine test and an ultrasound examination of the kidneys. If diabetes is suspected, the doctor may prescribe other tests. What to do when dehydrated?
Therapy of disease
The main goal of treatment in this case will be to get rid of symptoms and restore normal fluid levels. If all the signs directly indicate a mild severity of the problem, you can handle it yourself. This does not mean that you do not need to go to the doctor. Just if there is a slight deviation, the treatment of dehydration at home will be effective.
All actions must be coordinated with the therapist or performed in his presence. The following items are required:
- need to place the patient in a calm and quiet place with access to fresh air;
- slowly in small portionsgive water until the normal state is fully restored, in time all symptoms will disappear;
- if overheating has caused the loss of a significant amount of water, it is necessary to raise the patient's legs by placing a pillow;
- applying cold compresses to the forehead, arms and torso is a great solution;
- you can use a fan or air conditioner for more cooling.
You need to remember that if you lose a mild degree of fluid, you need to replenish it to a normal state. If the case is more severe, it is better not to do anything until the doctors arrive.
What to drink when this problem occurs?
In most cases, a significant amount of water loss occurs in the summer, the hottest time of the year. Regardless of whether an adult or a child is affected, you need to know what to drink. To stabilize the water-electrolyte balance, replenish s alts and essential trace elements, s alt solutions should be added to the water, you can drink them separately. Therefore, such developments are used to create drinks for athletes, this liquid is rich in minerals and vitamins.
Replenishing the missing amount of fluid in the body is called rehydration. What to drink when dehydrated? It is quite effective to add solutions like rehydron or any other to water for rehydration. The following medicines showed excellent results: "Orasan", "Regidrare" and "Gastrolit". They are available in powder form for quickdissolution in liquid. The saline solution is made on your own: you add a teaspoon of s alt to the water, and you can drink it.
A small intermediate conclusion: if mild dehydration is detected, drinking will be the main treatment. And here it makes sense to talk about the use of a large amount of liquid. The patient must inspire himself with the following: one should drink not because one wants, but because one has to.
An interesting fact: the more the temperature of drinking water corresponds to the temperature of the human body, the faster the liquid is absorbed into the blood. The most effective treatment should be carried out using a solution of the desired temperature. Dehydration in an adult, if the level of water deficiency has not reached a critical level, can be cured with the right actions.
A child with this kind of problem is de alt with in a similar way. It is necessary to carry out rehydration with saline solutions. If it is not possible to do them, you can get by with a sufficient amount of liquid in small portions throughout the day. The amount of shortage is calculated by the doctor when analyzing the symptoms. The goal of any therapy will be to eliminate the symptoms. A very young child should be given the missing fluid using a tube or syringe without a needle.
Consequences
Dehydration, when combined with vomiting and diarrhea, results in the loss of important electrolytes. The lack of particles impairs the movement of water from the space inside the cell to the bloodstream. Because of this, the volume of water is reduced even more.
WhenFluid deficiency can result in:
- Fatigue. As you know, water is one of the most important components of energy, and its absence leads to a decrease in activity. The result is the following: a person becomes lethargic, due to which the level of efficiency decreases.
- High blood pressure. Liquid connective tissue is composed almost entirely of water. If a person is found to be dehydrated, there is an increase in pressure on the heart and blood pressure rises.
- Allergies and asthma. When there is a lack of fluid in the body, histamine tries to intelligently preserve the available reserves and distribute them in accordance with priorities. Dehydration greatly increases histamine production.
- Pain in the joints. Cartilage contains a large amount of water. The fluid is needed for the formation of intra-articular moisture, which is necessary for normal functioning. Accordingly, if there is not enough water, pain and discomfort in the joints appear.
- Weight gain. As already noted, the liquid is a conductor of nutrients to the cells, and it also contributes to the removal of decay products. With a lack of water, the body is not able to eliminate toxins and toxins, they are deposited in fat cells, which increases the patient's weight.
Forecast and prevention
If you start treatment in a timely manner and restore the water and electrolyte balance in a short time, the prognosis will be favorable. There are exceptions when the necessary assistance was not provided on time, which led to complications. Dehydration in conditions where there is no access to water is considered the most dangerous situation.
As for prevention, you need to consume enough fluids throughout the day. It is possible to prevent the development of pathology only by treating various disorders, as well as timely treatment of intoxication. The main thing is to prevent a state when a chronic fluid imbalance develops. Then it will be too late to change something, and it will be very difficult for the patient to return to his usual way of life. Therefore, it is so important to start treatment in time and prevent such situations from happening in the future.
