Did you know that we are designed so our own aged bodies seem hell-bent on our demise? Seriously. As we grow older, our thirst mechanism lessens, then basically deserts us.
FACT: people 60+ have a decrease in their thirst mechanism, so we (I'm 64) no longer get the sense of thirst that leads younger folks to grab a bottle or head for a water fountain? Literally left to our own natural devices, our older people could easily do us in!
And it's not just the decline of our thirst mechanism that can lead to serious dehydration issues. Older folks also experience diminished appetite (hence, the smaller portions on a restaurant's "55+" menu section) & reduced food choices (especially fewer fresh unprocessed fruits & vegetables), leading to less liquid acquired at the dinner table. Add to that poor memory leading to skipped meals, the impact of immobility & illness, medications playing further havoc with our thirst mechanism & retention, and it's all to easy for an elderly relative friend client to be dehydrated.
The older we get, the more likely we are to suffer from dehydration & the more life-threatening it becomes; according to the European Hydration Institute, "People between 85-99 years are 6 times more likely to be hospitalized for dehydration than those 65-69 years."*
While dehydration is preventable (although not as easily as youngers might assume - the elderly often resent being reminded to drink water - "Stop treating me like a baby!"), it's effects are devastating for the elderly. A beloved grannie client had two major hospital stays, almost dying both times due to dehydration-induced pneumonia, all because she fought drinking enough water, even more threatening in her case, since she was unusually thin, with less liquid-storing muscle.
This is the first in a mini-series of posts on the importance of getting enough liquids throughout the year, but ESPECIALLY during summer months. Dehydration can happen at any time, but its dangers understandably spike with the arrival of hot temperatures.
My Health & Biology students were always surprised to learn that 60-70% of our bodies is water. Our blood is 90% water. Kidneys - 82%. Lungs - 80%. Heart - 79%. Skin - 64%. Even our bones are 22% water!
It was just a few months ago that a friend suggested I drink a glass of water instead of taking aspirin for my frequent headaches - sure enough, they were caused by dehydration & disappeared as soon as I downed some H2O.
Turns out that when our body is down as little as one quart of water, we're likely to lose some of our cognitive function, our sense of alertness can get fuzzy, our ability to concentrate diminished. Lose a gallon, and - voila! - we can feel a headache coming on & feel seriously lethargic. Down two gallons & friends will be visiting us in the hospital. Three gallons? We're headed for the morgue.
And all liquids are NOT created alike! Coffee, tea, soda - all are liquid, but they dehydrate the body rather than replenish. When I take a grannie client out to a meal, it is essential that she drinks as much water as she does her beloved cup of coffee - and that's no easy task! And fruit juices, which I long assumed counted as healthy liquids, don't replenish the body like clear liquids & sports drinks like Gatorade.
I may sound like a broken record, writing yet ANOTHER bunch of posts every summer on the potentially deadly impact of dehydration on the elderly. It's relatively easy to prevent, but what a terrible cost it can take - physically, emotionally, financially - when it happens.
*European Hydration Institute booklet, Hydration & the Care of the Elderly
all graphics are from the European Hydration Institute
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