Be aware of unusual signs of dehydration
It doesn’t take much to become dehydrated in the extreme summer heat.
If you lose just 1.5 percent of the water in your body you’ve already reached the tipping point of mild dehydration.
We know a lot of the typical warning signs are headaches, dizziness and irritability.
What many people don’t know is that being dehydrated can give you bad breath, the chills and make you crave carbs!
Dr. Gemma Kim is the director of the family medicine residency program for UC Riverside and said it’s easy to quickly become dehydrated.
“You can lose it through your skin, through sweating, because of the high heats we have. So it’s your body’s way of cooling itself when you’re sweating to accommodate for the heat,” Kim said.
She said there are some warning signs you might not be aware of.
Dehydration can often mask itself as hunger.
“Your body’s depleted of it’s nutrients and so it makes you crave typically more carbohydrates versus salads or anything like that,” Kim said.
When you’re dehydrated you might also have bad breath.
“It’s kind of like when you’re sleeping and you don’t drink or eat anything for a while. It can give you bad breath cause your mouth is staying stagnant and sticky,” Kim said.
In extreme cases some people get the chills.
“As dehydration progresses your body tries to retain fluid so all of your blood will get directed to your internal organs,” Kim said.
Because of that, your skins cools and drys out.
Everyone knows the number one way to prevent dehydration is to drink water. But there are a number of other ways to stay safe in this extreme heat.
Kim said to avoid coffee, tea and soda as much as possible. But if you can’t say no to a cup of Joe follow it with two glasses of water.
She said on hot days you should try to drink double your weight in ounces of water.
And sometimes water alone isn’t enough.
“You also need to replace your electrolytes cause you can lose sodium, potassium and things like that,” Kim said.
She said Pedialyte is the best choice.
Make sure if you do plan on working out you’re drinking water before, during and after.
And if you’re exercising for more than an hour be sure to replenish with a sports drink.
