Dehydration in its simplest terms is defined as an excessive loss of body fluid. For any of you sports athletes out there, you all know the detriment dehydration can do to your body. But what exactly is going on with your body, physiologically, when you become dehydrated?
There are three main types of dehydration. Hypotonic, the loss of electrolytes. Hypertonic, the loss of water. And isotonic, the loss of both electrolytes and water. The most common type seen in humans is isotonic dehydration.
Bascially, your body is not getting the amount of water and electroytes it needs for proper functioning. And when this happens, your body literally begins to shut down. If not remedied, this can lead to neurological complications like seizures and eventually death. Yikes.
Symptoms of dehydration start to occur before you may even realize you are dehydrated. You may experience headaches, muscle cramping, dizziness or fainting. Other symptoms include dryness of your skin, an elevated heart rate, loss of appetite and constipation. Most people will start to realize once they get to this point that they are dehydrated. They usually will just start to feel thirsty before it even gets to this point. Sometimes though, people will experience headaches and muscle cramping, before realizing that they are thirsty. A lot of times, if you find yourself not feeling right, drinking water will always help.
It is best to always drink as much water as you can throughout the day and avoid substances like caffeine, alcohol and too much sodium.
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