Prepared by
Diane Linder, EdD, LDN, RD

and
Melissa Brener, MS

Most people need about 6-8 glasses of water each day to replace daily body water losses.

Table of Contents for Water What is Water Functions of Water How Much Water Should You Drink How to Get Enough Water Dehydration Soft Drinks Water Questions and Answers Summary Review questions Back to Nutrition Curriculum Lessons

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Dehydration

Dehydration occurs when there is not enough water in your body.  Dehydration can be acute, as from illness or from an intense exercise such as a hard workout. Dehydration can also be chronic, resulting from your not getting over a period of time enough water each day to replace your daily water losses. Dehydration is defined as a 1 % to 2 % loss of body weight caused by fluid losses. Dehydration of 2 % loss of body weight results in impaired physiological and performance responses.

Acute dehydration can happen easily when a person is sick (vomiting, diarrhea or fever) and losing more fluid than normal.  Young children and elderly people are especially susceptible to dehydration. If an elderly person gets the flu, fever or diarrhea, the amount of water in their body can decrease within days or even hours.  Elderly people have less water in their bodies to begin with (because they have more fat and less muscle than younger people), so they can become dehydrated quickly. 

Some signs of dehydration include headache, thirst, loss of appetite, fatigue, increased temperature, heavy breathing, faster pulse rate, flushed skin, dry mouth and eyes, burning sensation in the stomach, dizziness and dark urine with a strong odor.

If you have a baby and it gets sick with a fever, diarrhea or vomiting, check to see if he wets his diaper. If he doesn't, he is dehydrated. A baby can become dehydrated quickly with fever, diarrhea or vomiting. Be sure to call the doctor's office right away when your baby gets any of these symptoms.

Assess your own hydration status by evaluating the color of your urine.It should be very pale yellow, pale yellow or straw colored if you are well hydrated. If your urine becomes dark with a strong odor, you need more water. You may also have a medical condition with that symptom.