Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dehydration

Need more H2O

desjardins — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:12:07 -0800

I do not like drinking (plain) water, but I know I should. Is it healthy to only drink stuff like Gatorade? If not, how can I force myself to like water? It does not matter what type of water I drink: tap, bottled, filtered, cold, warm. It actually unsettles my stomach; I immediately feel bloated and heavy. I don't like the taste, or maybe more accurately the lack thereof. I guess I'm not dehydrating because I do drink Gatorade, tea, and other things that contain water, plus my diuretic (caffeine and alcohol) intake is minimal.

However, I have chronically low blood pressure and one of my kidneys does not function (never developed from birth), so I really need to change this habit. Has anyone dealt with this before? If it matters, I'm a 34 y/o female, very petite (under 100 lbs), non-smoker, non-drug user.

MetaCatFilter

Octoparrot — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:52:16 -0800

Dehydration, lethargy, and horrible bad breath in a six year old cat. What are the potential problems We have a six year old mixed breed cat we adopted about 5 years ago that seems to be incredibly sick all of the sudden and I'm looking for some ideas on what could be wrong. We took her to the vet today and are waiting on test results before any conclusions on what's wrong with her. I'm hoping to get some ideas to discuss with the vet in case the test results are inconclusive.

History:
We adopted this cat almost six years ago from the local Dumb Friends League. She is an extremely loving mixed breed (unknown, found on street) de-clawed black cat and she was estimated to be a year at most. She had her full round of shots and has been completely healthy as long as we've had her. We've been a bit lax on getting her vaccines but she was seen by a vet last four years ago and was fully up to date on shots then and had no health issues.

Problem:
About 3 weeks ago we noticed her breath to be even fouler than normal. Going from "She has bad breath" comments to "Keep her out of the room" smell. We figured she needed her teeth cleaned and were looking at vets to take her too in the near future.

In the last few days she has suddenly become extremely lethargic and seems to have dropped weight. We have two other cats in the household who all eat the same food in the same dish but we assume she's stopped eating. She's also extremely dehydrated and hypothermic (lower temperature than normal) according to the vet.

Other potentially relevant data:
We just moved to a new house about four weeks ago and there is another cat in the household (total of three cats). All three cats are strictly indoors only and are up to date on vet checks/vaccinations.

So hive mind, what are the potential problems we may be facing? Obviously she may pass but what all should we be considering as far as outcomes?

Please help me save someone from dehydration...

Unicorn on the cob — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:57:17 -0800

My boyfriend cannot stop vomiting. I know you are not a doctor, but I am desperate. Please advise if you have ever had this happen, I'm very worried. He started feeling poorly on Friday, and stayed confined mostly to bed Friday evening, all day Saturday and Saturday night, and beginning around 2 a.m. the vomiting began. He's vomiting about once every 10-15 minutes and has for 16-18 hours. I have tried all of the following:

- Dramamine
- Emetrol
- Anti-nausea chewables
- Gatorade
- Sparkling water
- Plain water
- Ice chips
- Ginger ale

I also drove to the pharmacy and begged the tech for help. She said "if stomach pain, try emetrol. If no stomach pain, try Dramamine."

Nothing has helped. He has no medical insurance. I have tried calling my doctor and he will not prescribe anything over the phone. There is no free clinic in Dallas. There is no Ask-a-Nurse number for Dallas. The last time I took him to the emergency room we waited a full 24 hours and watched a person have a seizure right in front of us and he spit blood and puke within a few inches of us. The bill was several thousand dollars. Neither of us has the strength to go through that again.

Symptoms: No fever, but body aches everywhere, extremely sore throat (totally from the vomiting), body aches, extended sneezing spells (he'll sneeze 6 times in a row, quickly, try to sip a little water, and spend the next five minutes violently vomiting).

I just... I don't know what to do. I don't know what this is. I have exhausted every friend, parent, and neighbor with requests for medication. All pharmacies have closed now and I'm exhausted, too.

Other factors: He has consumed no alcohol in several days, no new foods/medications/vitamins, no change in surroundings or usual daily activities, and the only things he has eaten are 100% fruit juice popsicles and a small bowl of pasta which I also ate and am fine.

He is not coughing, nothing is swollen, no stiffness in the neck, no fever... I just am at my wit's end. 1/2 a chunk of ice melting in his mouth triggers five minutes of vomiting. Any suggestions?

I have read that he needs to sleep for a few hours and let his digestive tract rest before trying fluids again, but he cannot fall asleep due to the overwhelming thirst. Ideas?

I have checked WebMD, ask-a-nurse medical services online and called my local hospital and they cryptically referred me to WebMD and then hung up on me.

For richer and puffier? In puffiness and in health?

barrakuda — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:50:29 -0800

What is the best way to dehydrate - loose excess water in a couple of hours? Had too many beers last night. Getting married today. Face is puffy. Help!!!

Water Sucks

netbros — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:18:09 -0800

It seems obvious, but what is the best liquid to drink to prevent dehydration in a desert environment? My father is a stubborn old coot. He does not like water, never has, never will. He isn't about to change in his eighties either. Last summer we went on a vacation to Grand Canyon West. We did all the touristy stuff, walked the Skywalk, rafted the Colorado River, and hiked the canyon rim.

One of the days there, Dad showed all the outward signs of dehydration. Air temperature was well above 100 with single digit humidity, typical Arizona desert summer conditions. All he would drink was his favorite Diet Coke. We told him he was looking dehydrated and needed to guzzle water. He said Diet Coke is mostly water, it has no sugar, it would be perfectly fine for hydration.

To shorten the story, we eventually got him to drink water and everything turned out fine. But the question has remained. Intuitively, it would seem that Diet Coke or some other soda would not be the best solution for desert hydration. Why not, and what are the best fluids to drink when in that situation?

Water filter: How long will it take to fill up again?

trinity8-director — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:53:00 -0800

How long does rehydration take? So I spent a lovely time at the ER because my resting pulse rate was nearly double my normal rate. Turns out I stupidly let myself get dehydrated for several stupid reasons. I know! Stupid!

One bag of IV juice knocked the pulse rate down by 20 points and they turned me loose.

It got wondering, during one of several hundred trips to the restroom today, how long would it take to completely rehydrate after being that depleted?

OK, so nobody has enough data to say for sure but are we talking hours or days or...? Just looking for some kind of ballpark scale. Assume no special exertion or hot weather, etc., during the rehydration period.

Also, any special rehydration tips are welcome.

Help me think up ways to soup up my tricycle riding experience.

actionpact — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:34:39 -0800

Help me think up ways to soup up my tricycle riding experience. OK, don't laugh-- I'm a 24-year old girl who rides an adult tricycle (Actually, wait, go ahead and laugh, everyone else does!). I never learned to ride a real bike and so I would up purchasing a tricycle--Like this one, essentially: a Worksman 3-speed Port-o-Trike I've lovingly named Manny (folding, 20" wheels, etc.) . But I'm pretty out of shape and the extra weight of lugging around a tricycle + things in the basket mean that I only clock 7mph (though I have yet to ride that far in an hour, as I get pretty winded), and get pretty tired out a couple of miles into it. I know part of the solution is 'Ride the bike more, dummy', but here's my other quandry: I live in Phoenix, AZ. Right now it's beautiful and great riding weather, but in two months it will be time for shrubbery to set aflame again, and riding out there will make me want to keel over. I'd really like to improve my tricycle skills so I could theoretically go across town and be less dependent on a car.

Today I saw someone riding a tricycle with a canopy-- but I don't know if such things exist for bicyclists or what. Googling just turned up children's trikes' suggestions. What can I do to help make my tricycle a more awesome ride-- either by shading me from sun, or somehow souping it up to move faster, or some such thing. The ground's super-flat, but there's a lot of resistance pushing the sucker, especially when I'm stopping and starting. (The dealer said this is the way tricycles work. I wonder if he's right?) A canopy/sunscreen project (either bought or DIY) seems like it might be a great improvement. I kind of wish there was a way to get fancy and put an electric motor on the trike, but I don't really know if that's just a pipe dream. Maybe there's some kind of hack to lessen resistance on a bike though?

Conversely, suggest to me other good tips for not dehydrating and feeling weak/light-headed when the heat reaches triple digits and you're pedalling about. That sun is hot! I was tempted to get one of those water packs bicyclists use--a Camelbak?

Thanks everybody in advance. I know it's kind of a weird question!

The bag came with three servings. Why should I avoid the third?

crinklebat — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:16:58 -0800

What could be causing this weird reaction to frozen pasta? So, I hate to cook, and as such I eat a lot of premade food from Trader Joe's. Last night, for the second time, I had their red pesto farfalle. The last time I ate it (first time ever), a few hours later I got a headache in my right temple so severe it made me nauseated and weepy. I also had an elevated pulse all night (well, I had an elevated pulse before I went to sleep and had a dream where I was drinking caffeinated drink after caffeinated drink...you connect the dots) and felt weird and shaky the next day. I didn't associate it with the pasta.

However, last night I ate it and felt the beginnings of the same damn headache - same location, same general feeling. I took two tylenols and drank about half a liter of water and went to bed. This morning, I feel not as bad as I did last time, but still sort of bad and with the remnants of a headache.

My best guess is that this is a high sodium food (400 mg/serving) that just dehydrated the heck out of me, but I eat a lot of Trader Joe's products and many of them have more sodium. Here are the ingredients:

Parcooked pasta (water, durum wheat semolina, salt), tomato pulp, walnuts, pecorino romano cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, rennet), grana cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, rennet, lysozyme (enzyme from egg white)), basil, sunflower seed oil, garlic, tapioca starch, sugar, chili powder.

Doesn't look too sinister, right? I think I've had all these things before with the possible exception of grana cheese. Any thoughts?

why am I (almost) blacking out?

krautland — Wed, 30 May 2007 19:14:11 -0800

why am I (almost) blacking out? perhaps you know these moments: you look into the sun and for a few seconds you see these dark spots everywhere, your head hurts, your balance is thrown off, you have to stand still and close your eyes. it feels a bit as if the blood has rushed out of your head. this has been happening to me on and off for about a week now, sans sun. it takes very little to trigger this - I get up from the couch and it happens.

I know this feeling from that one time I ran a 10k in 85F and got dehydrated. I run 5k daily, consider myself in decent shape (6"4, 29, 215) and I am certain I drank plenty yesterday, the day this happened last. I just walked up a flight of stairs and when I grabbed the door handle it hit me like a ton of bricks. I literally had to stop right there for close to a minute.

obviously something is wrong and I should see a doctor. if you are in chicago, please also do feel free to recommend one, but the more important question is what this might be. it's certainly freaking me out.

How long can humans last without water?

Amizu — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 05:28:43 -0800

How long can a reasonably healthy human survive without water? I'm trying to find credible, reliable sources that tell me the maximum amount of time a person can survive without any hydration whatsoever. I realize this varies person to person and depends on factors like heat, shelter, etc., but I'm looking for the maximum. Assuming no real medical treatment will follow the experience.

Why do my legs hurt when I'm hung over?

paulrockNJ — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 09:17:59 -0800

Why do my legs hurt when I'm hung over? The day after drinking my legs always ache -- they're not sore like they would be from working out, they just ache like they're tired. Any idea why that is? Something related to dehydration I'm guessing? At first I thought that maybe it was due to prolonged standing at bar all night - but I'm not in that bad of shape. On top of that, it happens even if I get drunk sitting down.