Dehydration Treatment Orange County, CA

What Causes Dehydration?

You can suffer a water deficit from not drinking enough water, losing more water than you are taking in, or both:

• Vomiting or diarrhea
• High fever
  Causes your body to lose fluids via increased skin evaporation
• Frequent urination
  Increased urination from medical conditions like diabetes or certain medications can cause increased fluid losses
• Sweating
  Especially from summertime heat, you can dehydrate from excessive sweating

Factors that can speed up dehydration include:

• Excessive Heat and Low Humidity
  When exposed to heat, the body sweats to cool down. However, in conditions of low humidity — “dry heat” — sweat evaporates quickly, making it difficult to perceive how much fluid you are losing. As a result, extreme heat and low humidity can rapidly deplete your body's water reserves, leading to dehydration.
• Drinking Alcohol
  Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it stimulates urine production and leads to increased fluid loss. Consequently, the body ends up ejecting more fluid than usual.
• High Elevation
  At higher altitudes, the air becomes drier, so the moisture from the body evaporates more quickly. Additionally, the air pressure is lower, causing fluids to evaporate from the respiratory passages faster. As a result, you can experience both increased breathing and sweating, leading to an increased loss of fluids. Since higher altitudes have colder temperatures, you might not be fully aware that your body needs extra water.
• Extra Activity and Sweating
  When engaging in intense activity, such as exercise or prolonged exertion, your body generates heat and produces sweat as a natural mechanism to cool down. This process, however, also leads to increased loss of fluids and electrolytes.

What Are the Symptoms of Dehydration?

Common dehydration symptoms include:

• Thirst and Dry Mouth
  As you lose fluids, your salivary glands produce less saliva, leading to mouth dryness. The fluid loss triggers the thirst reflex, reminding you to replenish your fluid levels.
• Fatigue and Dizziness
  Dehydration decreases blood volume, and reduces delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs. Also, your body redirects blood to working muscles and away from the skin, interfering with your body’s ability to scatter heat. This increase in internal heat can intensify symptoms of fatigue and dizziness.
• Dark-Colored Urine and Decreased Urination
  When the body lacks fluids, your kidneys concentrate your urine to reduce fluid loss, causing a reduction in the amount of urine produced and a darker colored urine.
• Headaches and Confusion
  Dehydration can actually shrink your brain, pulling it away from the skull and increasing pressure on nerves, causing headaches. As your brain contracts, its cells cannot function properly, causing cognitive impairment including confusion.
• Muscle Cramps and Weakness
  Dehydration impacts the concentration of key salts in bodily fluids, which are necessary for proper muscle contractions. As a result, muscle cramps and weakness can occur.