Did you know that approximately two thirds of the human body is made up of water? That means if someone weighs about 70 kilograms, their body contains about 46 litres of water.

A healthy person should drink about two to three litres or about eight glasses of water a day. But if the proper water balance is not kept in the body, that's when dehydration can set in. Dehydration is a deficiency in the body's water supply. Some dehydration is relatively mild, but when the body's supply of fluids falls below a certain level, a condition known as hypovoemic shock may result.

Young children and infants can be seriously affected by dehydration, and a physician's advice should be sought if signs of dehydration, including anxiety, shortness of breath or cool, clammy skin sets in.

The body will first attempt to deal with dehydration by stimulating the thirst centres of the brain. This naturally prompts someone who's dehydrated to drink more fluids.

But if water intake can't keep up with water loss, dehydration becomes more severe, and the body will respond by decreasing sweat and other bodily fluids.

In most cases, drinking water is all that's needed to re-hydrate the body. But if both water and electrolytes, which are dissolved mineral salts within the body such as sodium potassium and chloride, are absent, then commercially available drinks are a good source to put those minerals back into your system.

Finally, caffeinated and alcoholic beverages should be avoided, as these too cause dehydration.

If you would like more information about avoiding dehydration, visit: HealthyOntario.com

August 2003

© Queen's Printer for Ontario, 2003  |  Privacy Policy  |  Disclaimers  |   Last Modified :