Belize Medical Associates

What is Dehydration?

Dehydration is a condition that occurs when a person loses more fluids (such as urine or sweat) than he or she takes in. Dehydration isn't as serious a problem for teens as it can be for babies or young children, but if you ignore your thirst, dehydration can slow you down.

How Do People Get Dehydrated?

One common cause of dehydration in teens is gastrointestinal illness. When you're flattened by a stomach bug, you may lose fluid through vomiting and diarrhea. You can also become dehydrated from lots of physical activity if you don't replace fluid as you go, although it's rare to reach a level of even moderate dehydration during sports or other normal outdoor activity.

How do People avoid dehydration?

The easiest way to avoid dehydration is to drink lots of fluids, especially on hot, dry, windy days. This might mean as many as 6 to 8 cups (1.4 to 1.9 liters) a day for some people, depending on factors like how much water they're getting from foods and other liquids and how much they're sweating from physical exertion. Remember that drinking water adds no calories to your diet and can be great for your health.

When to See a Doctor for Dehydration

Dehydration can usually be treated by drinking fluids. But if you faint or you feel faint every time you stand up (even after a couple of hours) or if you have very little urine output, you should tell an adult and visit your doctor at Belize Medical Associates. The doctor will probably just have you drink more fluids, but if you're more dehydrated than you realized, you may need to receive fluids through an IV to speed up the rehydration process. An IV is an intravenous tube that goes directly into a vein.

Occasionally, dehydration might be a sign of something more serious, such as diabetes, so your doctor may run tests to rule out any other potential problems.

In general, dehydration is preventable. So just keep guzzling that H2O for healthy hydration.