Scratch’s Tips on Dodging Dehydration

It’s that time of year again – hot days, sunny afternoons, and tryin’ to get in shape for that dreaded bathing suit. Yep, with summer in full swing there are a lot of Rockheads out there gettin’ their summer workout on! While shedding pounds and soakin’ in the sun are both highly encouraged by this here caveman, it’s also important to play it safe – particularly when it comes do dehydration.

Dehydration is pretty simple enough to understand (heck, it better be if a caveman’s explainin’ it). When you’re losing more fluid than you’re taking in, you’re at risk of dehydration. It’s all about replacing those lost fluids! Common causes of dehydration include diarrhea, vomiting, fever, or excessive sweating. Anyone can become dehydrated, but it’s particularly dangerous for young children, older adults, and people with chronic illnesses.

Fortunately, dehydration is usually pretty easy to treat. Ya simply have to drink some fluids! Make it easy on yourself by simply carryin’ a water bottle to the gym or when you go out on a bike ride. If you’ve got water on hand, then stayin’ hydrated is so easy even this caveman can do it.

If you experience severe dehydration, however, you’ve gotta get yerself over to a doctor for medical treatment. When it comes to dehydration, the smartest thing you can do is to just prevent it. Monitor your fluid loss in hot weather and make sure to drink a lot of water when you’re exercising to replace the water that you sweat out.

So how do you know when you’ve gotten dehydrated? There are a number of symptoms for mild dehydration:

• – Dry, sticky mouth

• – Sleepiness or tiredness

• – Thirst

• – Decreased urine output

• – Few or no tears when crying

• – Headache

• – Dry skin

• – Constipation

– Dizziness or lightheadedness

If you’ve got the following symptoms, then you’ve passed the point of mild dehydration. You’re officially in the red zone and need to seek immediate medical care if you’re experiencing:

• – Extreme thirst

• – Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults

• – Very dry mouth, skin, and mucous membranes

• – Lack of sweating

• – Little or no urination – any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber

• – Sunken eyes

• – Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity (doesn’t “bounce back” when you pinch it)

• – Low blood pressure

• – Rapid heartbeat

• – Rapid breathing

• – No tears when crying

• – Fever

– In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness

Like I said before, the best thing you can do when it comes to handlin’ dehydration is to just stop it before it starts! Fortunately, we’ve got a number of helpful hydration products available in the Cave! Be sure to stay tuned with Scratch next week when I take a look at the different ways of stayin’ hydrated from water to Gatorade and more!