What is dehydration?
Dehydration happens when the body loses too much water. Your body loses water by sweating, going to the toilet and by breathing out tiny water particles when you exhale.
Normally, you’re easily able to replace this water by drinking more and by ingesting it in food. Dehydration happens when water is not replaced quickly enough to make up for water that is lost.
How can dehydration happen?
It can be surprisingly easy to become dehydrated.
If you don’t rehydrate regularly, you could become dehydrated if you:
- do exercise that is strenuous, prolonged or makes you very sweaty
- do manual work or work in a hot environment
- spend time in a hot or poorly ventilated indoor environment, like a heated gym or hot warehouse
- spend time in a dry environment, like a long-haul plane flight
- or spend time without access to water.
How do I know if I am dehydrated?
If you are mildly dehydrated, you might experience one or more of these symptoms:
- thirstiness
- a dry mouth, lips, and tongue
- headache
- have urine that is a darker yellow than usual, and less of it
- light-headedness or dizziness.
How to prevent dehydration
You can follow these steps every day to help prevent dehydration:
- drink plain water often
- always carry water with you when you leave the house – use a BPA-free or stainless-steel container
- seek cool or shady places when you are out of the house
- be mindful of dehydration when doing outdoor activities
- take extra care on really
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