How can you tell if/when your body is dehydrated before it is too late?

Question

Recently went to the hospital for heat exhaustion/dehydration. My body was shutting down - passing out, cramping up, sick to my stomach. Now that it's all over I'm still very nervous and scared... I don't want that to ever happen again. How can I avoid dehydration in the future? (What worries me too is that I was drinking lots of water the day it happened!)

Answer 1

Things to watch out for:
1. Dry mouth
2. Not sweating enough even though you feel hot
3.clammy palms/feet and skin
4.headache accompanied by feelings of nausea/dizziness
5. Muscle cramps
6. rapid pulse
7.Weakness/loss of consciousness

Answer 2

Dehydration is the loss of water and salts essential for body functions, which occurs when more liquids and salts are lost than taken in.

Adults could feel dizzy, be extremely thirsty, have a heightened body temperature, although their skins may also feel cold to the touch. As a result of the loss of sodium and potassium, nausea and muscle cramp can also be present. If the body continues to dehydrate, then blood pressure will drop even further, resulting in shock and damage to internal organs such as the liver, the kidneys and the brain.

The sufficient taking of fluids will prevent dehydration. An adult loses about 1,2 – 1,5 litres in fluid daily through urination and about 1 litre through perspiration. There is also a varying amount of fluids lost through excretion. It stands to reason that approximately 2,5 litres of fluid need to be consumed daily so that the body does not become dehydrated.

This is what I found. Hope it helps. Stay Cool.

Answer 3

I was taught that the easyest way to tell is to pinch your skin like on your forarm, if it bounces back pretty fast things are good but if it takes a few minutes for the skin to retain shape you need fluids. Also headaches,cotton mouth, overwhelming thirst, woozy or dizzyness. Drink at least 6 to 8 Oz a day to help prevent it.

Answer 4

the first way to tell is when you start to get thirsty.. at that point u have lost about 1-2% of the water your body holds..
your skin will be warmer then normal and its turgor will be slightly decreased, you can check that by lightly pulling at the skin on the back of your hand if i doesn't bounce back right a way then you should drink more water