About the Symptoms of Dehydration

Dehydration occurs when the body is not able to replenish the water that it is depleting everyday. Bodies are made up of 75 percent water, and when that water is used up, it needs to be replaced in order for a person to stay properly hydrated. If this fails to occur, a person may feel sick as the symptoms of dehydration set in.

Significance

• Dehydration occurs when the body expels water that is not replenished. Urinating, sweating and falling ill are some of the ways in which the water in our bodies is depleted. Fortunately, water can be replaced by drinking water and sports drinks or eating water-based products such as gelatins, soups, fruits and popsicles.

Considerations

• The risk factors for dehydration vary depending on how severely water deprived a person is. If the water is not replenished and/or the body's temperature unable to return to normal, dehydration can lead to heatstroke, seizures, kidney failure, shock, coma and even death.

Geography

• Dehydration is more likely to occur in geographical regions where the body has to exert more energy to perform normal functions. High-altitude locations such as Colorado or the Sierra Nevadas can bring on dehydration quickly because the air is thinner and, thus, takes more energy to obtain the same amount of oxygen. Places such as Arizona and Florida also have many cases of dehydration because it is quite hot during the summer. In Arizona, the sun can become very intense, and in Florida, the humidity and high temperature can cause people to sweat a lot, leading to dehydration.

Identification

• Dehydration can be identified and assessed by determining a person's temperature, level of consciousness, blood pressure and pulse. Though none of these factors may explicitly point to dehydration, someone who is very hot, very thirsty, dizzy or disoriented may already be experiencing moderate to severe dehydration. Assessing these factors may help to determine how dehydrated a person is and whether they need immediate medical attention. A doctor can tell if a person is dehydrated by drawing blood and examining the electrolyte levels or by testing a person's urine with a urinalysis.

Function

• The human body is wired to alert the person when his body hasn't taken in enough water to compensate for what he's lost throughout the day due to normal body functions, exercise or illness. If that water continues to go unreplenished, the body will experience a range of symptoms and conditions from mild thirst to seizures and coma. The various stages and symptoms of dehydration serve as a red-flag signal within the body to alert it to take in more water. When listened to, dehydration and its accompanying ailments can often be reversed or prevented altogether.