What are the Sign and Symptoms of Dehydration?

Most cases of dehydration are connected to general illness. For example, if you have vomiting or diarrhea, you could be losing a lot of electrolytes — especially if you vomit any water you drink. The elderly, children, and people who have been sick for more than a day or two are at a higher risk of dehydration because the effect is cumulative.

If you are running a high fever you can also get dehydrated because you will be sweating more.

Other causes of dehydration include:

• Excessive sweating due to hot, humid weather or intense sports training
• Increased urination (often related to diabetes or other underlying illness)

The first sign of dehydration is thirst. By the time you experience a dry mouth and feel like you want to drink, your body is already dehydrated.

If you don’t start drinking immediately, more symptoms will develop. You will stop sweating and producing tears, feel nauseous and lightheaded, and experience heart palpitations and muscle cramps. If you are dehydrated and try to perform physical activities, you might find that your muscles don’t have enough strength for it.

Severe dehydration will also cause a sort of mental fog, where you feel disoriented and have trouble concentrating. Untreated, dehydration can lead to kidney failure, shock, and coma.

Dehydration is very common in children. Part of the reason for that is that children get sick, develop diarrhea or get a fever more often than adults. In addition, young children might be reluctant to drink when they are feeling ill – and you might not be able to explain to them why they should.

If you have a young child who has been vomiting or has severe diarrhea and is also refusing to drink, bring the child to our urgent care center in Rockville, MD. IV fluid therapy may be necessary in some cases.

The most obvious solution to dehydration is to drink water. However, this only works if you start drinking as soon as you notice the first symptoms of dehydration. If you wait until you are experiencing severe symptoms of dehydration, you might need replacement fluids instead. These are drinks that have added sugars and other ingredients to help balance your electrolytes faster and more efficiently. Examples of common drinks to try to include Gatorade and Pedialyte.

For children, you can try popsicles, Jell-O, and clear broths. All of these can help with dehydration because they provide fluids to the body. Plus, they are more attractive to children than plain water, so they might be more likely to accept them when they’re not feeling well.

If you have been trying to drink but keep vomiting or if the symptoms worsen over a period of 24-48 hours, it might be time to see one of our healthcare providers. We will be able to rehydrate you by giving you intravenous fluids and anti-vomiting and/or diarrhea medications. Elderly people or those with a compromised immune system should talk to a provider as soon as possible to avoid major complications.

Visit Physicians Now Urgent Care and Walk-In Clinic to get specialized and comprehensive care. We serve patients from Rockville MD, Travilah MD, Lone Oak MD, Colesville Park MD, Redland MD, Darnestown MD, Anscroft MD, and Wheaton-Glenmont MD.