CHRONIC DEHYDRATION Part 2, Is Your Body Dying for Water?

Written By JeanAnn Fitzgerald |

Since 75 percent of one’s body and 85 percent of the brain is supposed to be water, unless you drink at least six to ten glasses of water each day, you’re probably dehydrated to some extent. It’s that simple; you are water and must put effort into staying that way. Because each body cell requires adequate water to stay healthy, long-term water shortage can manifest itself in as many different ways as medicine has invented diseases.

Most people recognize the acute form of dehydration (because it’s hard to ignore) when a person suddenly gets severe muscle cramps, becomes dizzy, then wants to stop everything and collapse. Few of us realize there is long-term chronic dehydration (because it’s easy to ignore), and far too many pooh-pooh the fact that it can seriously damage your health.

Because it’s what we’re taught, we wait for the muscle cramps and exhaustion to realize there is chronic water loss. But that doesn’t happen with long-term dehydration because it develops slowly over the months and years. It’s much like growing older—you don’t notice it while it’s happening.

Look at yourself in a 20 year old photo and notice the changes your body has made in the intervening years. Then look at yourself again. Are you “plumper” than you used to be? That could be because your body is desperately trying to hold onto what little water you’re giving it. Or are you now much thinner, even gaunt looking, because you’re so dehydrated your body is beginning to shrivel up? If your maladies keep multiplying, you’re not necessarily “getting older,” you could be getting more seriously dehydrated.

Even when we think we drink enough water, we could still be dry inside. For such an important part of our health, there are several ways to determine chronic dehydration.

For those who like scientific proof, there are various dehydration indicators which can be found in a blood test, says Martin Rutherford, D.C., a Reno chiropractor who treats the patient (and not the diagnosis) for many acute and chronic conditions.

Your body’s pH level will be in the acid range instead of the slightly alkaline range of 7.4. On the pH scale, 1 to 7 is the acid range, 7-14 is the alkaline area. Being too alkaline is as bad as being too acidic.

A high hemoglobin count acts as a buffer or bicarbonate to keep the body alkaline. Your red blood cell count may be too high at greater than 4.5 (women) or 4.9 (men). The red blood cells will have low oxygen content, and there will be more of them than normal to meet oxygen demand.

Blood pressure can be higher or lower than desirable. You may have low blood pressure with a rapid pulse rate because without enough blood pressure, the heart must work faster to get the blood moving.

Kidney BUN (blood urea nitrogen) greater than 16 or 5.7. The liver produces urea as a waste product of protein digestion and it is removed from the blood by the kidneys when they are filtering properly. Effectiveness of kidney filtration is hampered by a low water supply. Creatinine levels are elevated (.65-.09) signaling kidney trouble. Albumin may be greater than 5.0 or 50g/L.

If you’ve had a recent blood test, you can look at your results for these red flags that indicate your body may be in trouble from water deficiency. Drawing conclusions from a blood test is very complex, so for evaluation present yours to someone qualified in dehydration.

The nursingtimes.net website lists several water depletion signs.

Blood pressure will drop when a person goes from lying down to standing up. This may even result in dizziness or fainting.

Capillary refill time is noted by holding your hand at the same level as the heart and then pressing on the pad of the middle finger for five seconds. This will turn the finger pad white. After pressure release, it takes less than two seconds for normal color to return.

A well hydrated person will have one longitudinal furrow in the tongue. A person with depleted fluids may have additional furrows.

The simplest dehydration indicator is the color of your urine. Dehydrated brain cells release an antidiuretic hormone that lowers urine output to conserve water, so the urine becomes more concentrated (darker in color). As the urine continues to darken, there is less fluid output flushing away your cell waste products, so this waste accumulates in cells and poisons them. When water intake is high enough, less antidiuretic hormone is produced, so the kidneys produce more urine to dilute the color and it becomes lighter.

Gauging your output color after you’ve urinated is not a reliable test because the urine has been diluted by the water in the bowl. The accurate method is to catch a few ounces in a wide- mouthed plastic or glass container. Then you are judging the actual urine color.

Clear or very pale yellow means you’re adequately hydrated. So pat yourself on the back and keep drinking (water).

Dark yellow or gold is a sure sign dehydration has begun unless you are consuming B Vitamins, laxatives with cascara or senna, medications like chloroquine, nitrofurantoin, primaquine, methocarbamol or metronidazole.

Orange or amber urine reveals a lot of water shortage. Things that can also cause this color are certain food dyes, some laxatives, excessive carrots, Vitamin C and medications such as pyridium. Brown urine means severe dehydration is destroying your tissues and organs.

Pink or red from blood in the urine are signs of kidney or bladder infection, or too many beets, berries or food dyes.

The urine color chart is easy for even children to understand. It costs you nothing and is always there to check for color. Discounting the other causes, when your urine color crosses the red line, you should make drinking water a higher priority. If your urine color is constantly amber or even brownish, it should scare you into immediate re-hydration mode.

The following are some simple things enjoyed by well- hydrated people:

• Fingernails are strong and do not chip or break easily
• Bowel movements are easy and quick
• There is no heartburn after meals
• Skin is soft and itch free
• Little is spent on chap sticks because lips are usually moist
• There are no hay fever medications in your cabinet
• “Colds” (which are the effects of hay fever) are caught by everyone else
• There’s enough energy to last until bedtime

If your life has the opposite of these things, drink a glass of water and be sure to read next month’s article about how the American diet and lifestyle affect your hydration level.

References

1. nursingtimes.net/measuring-and-managing-fluid- balance/5032614.article

2. firerescue1.com/fire-ems/articles/426726-The-Pee-Chart/

3. Batmanghelidj, F., M.D.P. ABC of Asthma, Allergies and Lupus. Global Health Solutions, 2000.

JeanAnn is a free-lance writer for health and metaphysics. “Heal Yourself for Real,” plus three more e-books are available at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com. She also does handwriting analysis and numerology. JeanAnn’s e-mail is ja@ energycircuit.com.

* Part one and two of this article were reprinted with the author’s permission.