Stay Hydrated!

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s already been very hot this summer! I know I sound like a broken record when I tell you to make sure you stay hydrated, but I’ve seen at least two instances already this summer that were serious enough to warrant hospital stays.It is important to drink water all day, every day. If you don’t, and then we see temperatures in the 90s for two straight weeks, the possibility of becoming dehydrated is highly likely. If you are not a regular water drinker, but you drink it like crazy during this hot weather, it is still not going to be enough to keep you hydrated.When the body becomes dehydrated, it can be life threatening as I saw recently with a friend’s son. The young man was working outside in the heat, and was drinking water and a sports drink (which I’ll tackle a little later.) The problem was that he was already dehydrated coming in to the day. Your body starts to show such signs as confusion, weakness, dizziness, inability to sweat and to urinate. In the instance of my friend’s son, he started throwing up and had a seizure. He was taken to the emergency room immediately, and was almost close to kidney failure when they got him stabilized.Becoming dehydrated is a very series matter. Remember, if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. It is best to drink water all day, and especially load up if you know you will be out in the heat. I repeat, it is best to drink WATER all day. Soft drinks, sports drinks and the like are filled with sugar, which can speed up the dehydration.Stay cool and stay hydrated!