Introduction to Home Remedies for Dehydration
Remaining hydrated is critical to your overall health. Doing so is also as simple as carrying around a handly bottle of water, or even just eating your fair share of fruits and vegetables. Learn more about dehydration, and the home remedies that will prevent you from drying up.Getting Flush Again
Every cell in your body needs water in order to function properly. In fact, an adult's body weight is 60 percent water, while an infant's is up to 80 percent water. Other than oxygen, there's nothing that your body needs more than water. Water is so important because it has many critical functions in the body. Among other activities, water:
- Lubricates your joints and connective tissues.
- Helps digest food.
- Liquefies mucus when you've got a cold. (This makes it easy to blow and cough it out.)
- Eliminates body heat through sweat.
- Carries oxygen, carbohydrates, and fats to working muscles, then carries away wastes such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid.
- Flushes wastes from the body through urine.
- Boosts endurance during prolonged exercise.
- Dilutes and disperses medications and vitamins so they won't give you a bellyache.
- Fights flight fatigue, often caused by dehydration from the dry air on the plane.
- Wards off bladder infections by washing out harmful bacteria.
- Helps curb your appetite.
- Plumps up wrinkles. (We have water in and around every cell in our bodies, and when water around those cells decreases, wrinkles happen.)
- Quenches thirst. (Thirst is our body's mechanism to alert us to insufficient fluids. If you're thirsty, it's time to restock.)
©2007 Publications International, Ltd.
Having a bottle of water on hand,
particularly when exercising, will
help you avoid dehydration.
Each and every time you exhale, water escapes your body--up to as much as 2 cups per day. It evaporates invisibly from your skin -- another 2 cups a day. And you urinate approximately 2 1/2 pints every 24 hours. Add it up, and you could be losing up to 10 cups of water every day, and that's before you break a sweat.
Because water has so many life-sustaining functions, dehydration isn't just a matter of being a little thirsty. The effects depend on the degree of dehydration, but a water shortage causes your kidneys to conserve water, which in turn can affect other body systems. You'll urinate less and can become constipated. As you become increasingly more dehydrated, the following symptoms will develop:
- diminished muscular endurance
- dizziness
- lack of energy
- decreased concentration
- drowsiness
- irritability
- headache
- tachycardia (galloping heart rate)
- increased body temperature
- collapse
- permanent organ damage or death
Obviously, you don't want to develop the problems listed above, so you have to ask: How much water do I need each day? Under normal conditions, the standard of 64 ounces a day is sufficient. That amount includes water from sources other than the tap. If you're an athlete or someone who spends a lot of time out in the sun, sweating, you'll probably need more. A good way to tell if you're adequately hydrated is by observing the color of your urine. If it's dark yellow or amber, that's a sign that it's concentrated, meaning there's not enough water in the wastes that are being eliminated. If it's light, the color of lemon juice, that's normal.
Here are more facts about your urine:
- Some medications change the color, which means you can't keep an eye on your hydration level. Ask your physician about the medications you take, including over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and minerals, that could change the color of your urine.
- Urine is normally darker and more concentrated in the morning, but with adequate hydration it lightens to lemon-juice color and remains that way throughout the day.
- Bathroom breaks should happen every two to three hours. If you don't need to urinate for longer periods of time, you're not drinking enough water.
For more information about dehydration and how to prevent becoming dehydrated, try the following links:
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- Learn more about physiology and how much water you need in How Exercise Works.
- A big gulp of bottled water will help keep you refreshed. Learn how to choose a great one in How Bottled Water Works.
- Believe it or not, a simple sunburn can cause dehydration. Treat it with Home Remedies for Sunburn.
Home Remedy Treatments for Dehydration
A glass of water is the most obvious solution to dehydration, but it's far from the only one. Look over all the possible home remedies to put some water back in your body when you're a bit low on fluids.From the Home Remedies Cupboard
Bland foods. If you've experienced dehydration, stick to foods that are easily digested for the next 24 hours, because stomach cramps are a symptom of dehydration and can recur. Try soda crackers, rice, bananas, potatoes, and flavored gelatins. Gelatins are especially good since they are primarily made of water.
Decaffeinated tea. Just another tasty way to get fluids in your body. Don't drink caffeinated tea, however, as caffeine is a mild diuretic.
Raisins. They're packed with potassium, a body salt lost during dehydration.
Salt. If you're experiencing symptoms of mild dehydration or heat injury, or you're just plain sweating a lot, make sure you replace your salt. Don't just chug salt straight from the box, however. Try eating pretzels, salted crackers, or salty nuts.
And to slough off the dry, flaky skin that comes from dehydration, try this: After you bathe and while your skin is still wet, sprinkle salt onto your hands and rub it all over your skin. This salt massage will remove dry skin and make your skin smoother to the touch. It will also invigorate your skin and get your circulation moving. Also, if your skin is itchy as a result of dehydration, soaking in a tub of salt water can be a great itchy-skin reliever. Just add 1 cup table salt or sea salt to bathwater. This solution will also soften skin and relax you.
Vinegar. Since achy muscles are a side effect of dehydration, this can bring relief. Add 8 ounces apple cider vinegar to a bathtub of warm water. Soak in tub for at least 15 minutes.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. Potassium in bananas helps rehydrate you better than most foods. |
Ice. Suck on it, or rub it on your body when you're overheated. This will help cool you down and prevent excess evaporation, which may lead to dehydration.
Popsicle. Eating one is a great way to restore water to your body. It's an easy way to get fluids into kids, too.
Water bottle. If you drink bottled water, freeze some in the bottom of an empty bottle, then top if off with cold water when you're ready to go. You'll have cold water ready to drink for hours. If you know you'll need more than one bottle of cold water, grab another full bottle, drain about an inch from the top and freeze the whole thing. By the time the first bottle is empty, you'll have plenty of cold water in the second.
From the Home Remedies Refrigerator
Bananas. They have great water content and are especially good for restoring potassium that has vanished with dehydration.
Bottled Water. Easy to take along wherever you go.
Fruit juice. This liquid has essential vitamins and minerals, which you need to replenish.
Lime juice. Add 1 teaspoon lime juice, a pinch of salt, and 1 teaspoon sugar to a pint of water. Sip the beverage throughout the day to cure mild dehydration.
Sports drinks. Not only will they add water back into your system, they'll restore potassium and other essential electrolytes (a salt substance, such as potassium, sodium, and chlorine found in blood, tissue fluids, and cells that carry electrical impulses). For children, these adult drinks may be too harsh, so talk to your pharmacist about pediatric rehydration drinks now on the market.
Watery fruits. While bananas are the number one fruit for rehydration, watery fruits are a delicious and nutritious way to restore fluids. Try cantaloupe, watermelon, and strawberries. Watery vegetables such as cucumbers are good, too.
Yogurt or cottage cheese. These have both sodium and potassium for replacing electrolytes.
From the Home Remedies Sink
Water. Drink your daily requirement at home or on the go. Start your day with 16 ounces, and end your day with 16 ounces. That's a great way to prevent mild dehydration.
Do's & Don'ts
- DON'T cut back your water intake if you're retaining fluids. Water retention that's caused by salt needs to be addressed by increasing water consumption to flush salt from the body. If water retention persists or becomes worse, however, be sure to check with your doctor. When water retention causes noticeable swelling, it's called edema, which can be a symptom of a serious medical condition.
- DO drink water, even when you're not thirsty. You're losing body fluids every second of the day, and they must be replaced.
- DON'T depend on sport drinks or soft drinks for all your fluid requirements. They can come with side effects and calories. Plain old water is the best choice.
- DON'T skip water just because your tap water tastes terrible. Bottled brands are available everywhere.
- DO humidify your home in the winter. It will keep your body hydrated.
- To see all of our home remedies and the conditions they treat, go to our main Home Remedies page.
- Learn more about physiology and how much water you need in How Exercise Works.
- A big gulp of bottled water will help keep you refreshed. Learn how to choose a great one in How Bottled Water Works.
- Believe it or not, a simple sunburn can cause dehydration. Treat it with Home Remedies for Sunburn.
Timothy Gower is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in many publications, including Reader's Digest, Prevention, Men's Health, Better Homes and Gardens, The New York Times, and The Los Angeles Times. The author of four books, Gower is also a contributing editor for Health magazine.
Alice Lesch Kelly is a health writer based in Boston. Her work has been published in magazines such as Shape, Fit Pregnancy, Woman's Day, Reader's Digest, Eating Well, and Health. She is the co-author of three books on women's health.
Linnea Lundgren has more than 12 years experience researching, writing, and editing for newspapers and magazines. She is the author of four books, including Living Well With Allergies.
Michele Price Mann is a freelance writer who has written for such publications as Weight Watchers and Southern Living magazines. Formerly assistant health and fitness editor at Cooking Light magazine, her professional passion is learning and writing about health.
ABOUT THE CONSULTANTS:
Ivan Oransky, M.D., is the deputy editor of The Scientist. He is author or co-author of four books, including The Common Symptom Answer Guide, and has written for publications including the Boston Globe, The Lancet, and USA Today. He holds appointments as a clinical assistant professor of medicine and as adjunct professor of journalism at New York University.
David J. Hufford, Ph.D., is university professor and chair of the Medical Humanities Department at Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine. He also is a professor in the departments of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Hufford serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine and Explore.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.
