Dehydration Treatment And Prevention

Dehydration

In the early stages of affection it is possible to treat dehydration at home. It is necessary to reduce and replace any fluid losses that might occur.

Treating dehydration

Infants and children up to one year

It is not recommended to postpone fluid replacement until the first symptoms of dehydration occur. Children must be hydrated in order to avoid these problems.

• If the child is breastfed, often nursing is recommended;
• If the child is bottle fed, feeding him more often is also recommended;
• Oral rehydration is attempted if there is a slight dehydration. The amount of fluid needed depends on the child’s weight and the severity of dehydration;
• If the child has started eating cereal, liquids required can be compensated by grain. The child may also eat mashed potatoes or bananas if the child had already been fed these types of food before.

Children aged between 1 year and 11 years

• It is necessary for parents to ensure that children consume liquids often;
• For dehydrated children an oral rehydration with orange juice, tap or bottled water is recommended;
• Parents should allow children to drink as much water as they consider necessary. They should encourage children to drink plenty of fluids. Children aged between 4 and 10 years should drink at least 8 glasses of liquid a day to cover the amount of lost fluid;
• Milk and cereal can also help restore the amount of liquid consumed daily by the organism.

Dehydration

Adults and children over the age of 12

If a person suffers from dehydration during light or moderate exercise or after outdoor work, that person should:

• stop work and rest for a few minutes;
• leave the sunlight and rest a few minutes in a cool place in the shade;
• remove any excess of clothes;
• consider consuming soft drinks such as water, juice or energy drinks to replace fluid lost during exercise. It is recommended to drink 2 liters of cold liquid in the next 2-4 hours. About 10 glasses of water a day is the recommended amount to keep body fluids at a normal level and prevent dehydration;
• rest and hydrate for the next 24 hours. Although the symptoms may disappear after a few hours, a day and a half is needed to replace lost fluids in the body.

Symptoms to watch for during home treatment

• Severe dehydration;
• Nausea and vomiting;
• Excessive fatigue;
• Little to no urine.

How to prevent dehydration

The following tips can be helpful in preventing dehydration:

• Prompt treatment at home in case of diarrhea, vomiting or fever;
• To prevent dehydration during hot days or during exercise, it is best to consume 8-10 glasses of fluid per day;
• It’s recommended to consume larger quantities of water during and after exercise;
• It is not recommended to drink coffee or cola drinks that contain caffeine. They increase dehydration and increase urine excretion;
• Avoidance of hyper-protein regimes. If a person is on a high protein diet, it should consume at least 8-12 glasses of fluid daily;
• Alcohol is not recommended, not even beer or wine. It increases dehydration and makes it difficult to make the right decisions;
• Salt tablets are not recommended. Most people have enough salt in their diet;
• Stop the exercise in case of dizziness or excessive fatigue;
• Consider wearing a single line of thin, light-colored clothing for outdoor exercise.

Exercising while wearing latex clothing is highly unrecommended!