My 96 year old father has had a couple bouts of pneumonia among other problems recently where he was hospitalized. He has fallen once but gets confused too. The docs say a lot of his problems are due to dehydration. Up until the end of March he was still driving too

I passed out years back from low fluids in very hot weather. Heck, in the Vets office as they were working on our family dog. I woke to a cool damp towel wiping my face and got a ride to the hospital. I've been a good dog sinse.. . Keep your liquids in you now and enjoy them.

Take notice of your urine activity. If you're not peeing as much or as often as usual and/or your urine is dark yellow you're heading towards dehydration. Simple water will fix most of this but drinking water will take a bit of time to flush through.

Yeah and the electrolytes need to be balanced. Something like Gateraide will help but first water.

Pipe Smoker, glad you're OK.
I've lately been having more light-headedness when I get up; my BP is a little lower than previously.
However, usually SD is a lot easier to take than the Maryland/DC area where we're visiting my son. Went downtown for an event, decided it wasn't worth seeing anything else. Took an hour and a half to cool off after walking a mile.

Have a buddy that rides bicycles, longer distances, he's close to if not over 70.

One day about a year ago or so he was driving his truck back from riding 20 miles on his bike in the summer, temps in the mid 90's. He passed out, crossed the center, jumped a curve, through a ditch and hit the side of a building, lucky for him minor scratches and a totaled truck.

He doesn't remember a thing, he passed out, woke up in a wreck and off to the hospital.

Glad the OP is okay. Dehydration isn’t anything to take lightly.
In the heat, water alone isn’t enough. Add a pinch of salt to your water - if you can taste it, you used too much.

If you get a headache, nauseated, lightheaded or muscle cramps and have been doing anything in the heat you need to rehydrate NOW because you’re already late and behind the curve.
If you have never tasted normal saline IV fluid, (likely what the OP got in the ED), it tastes really salty.

As stated above, pee clear. Light yellow is not “clear”.
When stuck on fire calls in the dead of summer (or playing golf when it’s 110*) I could drink a metric crap ton of fluids and still not pee for 4 hours...and then it looked like tea/coffee. Younger and dumber we were back then.

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
I've never had a dehydration problem, but did got knocked down once by heat stroke. I was working up in the attic in the summer. Must have been 130 up there.

Glad you recovered.

I had a bout of heat stroke on a motorcycle trip in 100+ degree temps. That night I had killer muscle cramps and nausea and major headache. I never made that mistake again.

Jim

I just ordered this for $8.34 from Amazon:

Propel Powder Packets Four-Flavor Variety Pack With Electrolytes, Vitamins and No Sugar (50 count)

www.amazon.com/dp/B0789FRV55/r..._api_i_yVJlDbRR1344Q

“Simply pour one powder packet into 16.9 ounces of water and shake.”

“Containing Gatorade electrolytes and no sugar…”

There is some really good safety tips here for all of us. I'm glad you are now doing fine.

My mom turned 89 last July and that was the beginning of her dementia though we weren't aware of it at the time.

She found herself in the ER 4 times with us involved in the panic to insure her health.

Came to find out she was dehydrated each time and it happened same time of day each time. I added up the facts and insisted on her change of lifestyle to include drinking water.

What a fight! OMG! She rejected it, acted like a 2 year old, smallest sip of water and blow up her mouth like a puffer fish and wouldn't swallow it.

We have caregivers with her now after we've nursed her back to health by ourselves. She's healthy as a horse, but sadly her mind is going.

Hydration is no joke.

if I drank as much water that is recommended I might as well stay in the bathroom all day, I tried that once and I swear every fifteen minutes I had to go.

I spent 4 years training recruits for the Navy and we had to enforce Hydration. Chuck carried a canteen on a web belt as part of the uniform of the day and i would have them drink 8-10 canteens of water a day.

And I still loaded half a doxen of them into an ambulance every week, especially early on.

I drink lots of water every day winter too.
I could replace a roman fountain!

Glad to hear you are ok.

The training facility I attend always tells us (especially in the warmer months), your urine should look like lemonade not apple cider.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

How long does it take to rehydrate if you haven't been drinking enough water?

<---
I wish you could have gotten a more flattering picture of me.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
I drink lots of water every day winter too.
I could replace a roman fountain!

I like to compromise and mix my sports drinks 50/50 w/ water when I need to drink a lot.

Caught up to me today in this heat and humidity, hard to recognize when your busy. Then it hits you, like a hammer, it's to late. Watch your self's guys!

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
I drink lots of water every day winter too.
I could replace a roman fountain!

Pis boy is in Brussels, not Rome.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Brawndo - it has electrolytes.

It's what you need.

An EMT buddy and I want to come up with a business model for scheduled periodic in-home IV hydration for sedentary seniors who are the most at risk for dehydration.