If the body's electrolyte and fluid balances are disrupted, the activity of the heart and brain can be diminished. Other effects from inadequate water intake include heavier breathing, arthritis from poor joint lubrication, muscle soreness, and higher body temperature. Seniors typically don't drink enough water.
Severe dehydration can lead to confusion, weakness, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bedsores in bedridden patients, and other serious conditions. Drinking enough fluids helps the body digest food, eliminate waste, regulate temperature through sweating, and maintain blood pressure.
Even if they are only mildly dehydrated, they will feel tired and will have poorer concentration, memory problems and slower reaction times. Other complications of dehydration include weakness, dizziness and an increased risk of falls.
A common and serious condition in older adults, dehydration can cause severe problems and even result in death if left unchecked. For seniors, dehydration can cause several major health problems, according to Daily Caring, such as: Kidney stones. Blood clots.
How much water do you need to stay hydrated? As a general rule, you should take one-third of your body weight and drink that number of ounces in fluids. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, aim to drink 50 ounces of water each day.
How to prevent dehydration in older adults? Experts generally recommend that older adults consume at least 1.7 liters of fluid per 24 hours. This corresponds to 57.5 fluid ounces, or 7.1 cups.
Act on early signs of dehydration.
If the person you are caring for is showing early signs of dehydration, offer them a bottle of water, Gatorade, Powerade or coconut water to replenish their electrolytes quickly.
Prolonged or repeated bouts of dehydration can cause urinary tract infections, kidney stones and even kidney failure. Seizures. Electrolytes — such as potassium and sodium — help carry electrical signals from cell to cell.
Be advised that death due to dehydration can occur in 3 days (or less in hot weather) and no one normally lives more than about 5-6 days without water.
Ways to Increase Fluid Intake
If a senior refuses to drink plain water, there are plenty of modifications and alternatives available. Try using water enhancers, opting for pre-flavored waters, serving fruit juice diluted with water, or making infused waters. Consider both savory and sweet flavors.
A study assessing the cognitive function and hydration status of 1,091 people over age 65 found that dehydrated individuals were at higher risk for dementia, while individuals with dementia were at higher risk for dehydration [6].
Your kidneys may not work as effectively with age, leading to a fluid imbalance in your body. Since your body has less water composition as you age, you become dehydrated much quicker than when you were younger. Medications. Diuretics are especially prone to causing dehydration.
The body requires a large amount of water to perform numerous vital functions, such as maintaining an internal temperature balance and keeping cells alive. As a general rule, a person can survive for approximately three days without water.
feeling thirsty. dark yellow, strong-smelling pee. peeing less often than usual. feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
Low blood volume shock (hypovolemic shock) This is one of the most serious, and sometimes life-threatening, complications of dehydration. It occurs when low blood volume causes a drop in blood pressure and a drop in the amount of oxygen in your body.
The Eatwell Guide says we should drink 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count.
Here is one more reason to enjoy that morning cup of joe: “Coffee counts toward your daily water intake,” says Lauren DeWolf, MS, RD, a registered dietitian with Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers. The water in coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages helps us meet our daily fluid needs.
Treatment with intravenous fluids should begin as soon as you can get medical care. IV fluids are usually a saline solution, made of water, sodium, and other electrolytes. By getting fluids through an IV rather than by drinking them, your body can absorb them more quickly and recover faster.
Drinking at least three servings of milk or eating dairy foods each day is a good way for seniors, like Doris, to get vitamin D and calcium, and protein.
In the United States it is generally considered that a senior citizen is anyone of retirement age, or a person that has reached age 62 or older.
Causes of refusal to eat and drink may include physiologic changes associated with aging, mental disorders including dementia and depression, medical, social, and environmental factors.