How To Protect Yourself From Dehydration This Summer

Jul 8, 2015

By Stephanie Simons,
Head Pharmacist,
Lindo’s Pharmacy in Devonshire

Summer is officially here and for us in Bermuda, that means months of long, hot, humid days with temperatures in the mid-80s for the majority of the day. Summer is the season for fun, but you must also make sure you focus on your health as well.

The human body and water – QUICK FACTS. Click to enlarge.

Dehydration is very common in the summer months when we tend to be very busy and forget to hydrate. The combination of hot sun and lack of water can be dangerous and even deadly.

So what exactly is dehydration? There are several types and levels of dehydration. The simple definition of dehydration is the excessive loss of body fluids in which the body needs more fluids than are being input to function normally. The body fluids that are lost are either one or the other of the following or a combination of the two – water loss and electrolyte loss.

Electrolytes are substances that become ions in a solution and are able to conduct electricity. They are present in the human body and essential for normal functioning of organs and cells. There are four main types of electrolytes found in the body – sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate.

When it comes to fluid loss, there are three main types of dehydration – hypotonic or hyponatremic, hypertonic or hypernatremic and isotonic or isonatremic. Hypotonic or hyponatremic is the loss of electrolytes, mostly sodium. Hypertonic or hypernatremic is the loss of water, and finally isotonic or isonatremic is the loss of both water and electrolytes.

Now that we know what causes dehydration, let’s look at symptoms and signs. (more…)