How An Underlying Condition May Cause Dehydration

Dehydration can occur in many different ways. If the water intake is cut off for a period of time, dehydration can cause serious problems. Dehydration can also occur if the person is suffering from any type of medical condition. For example, some diseases can cause the kidneys to not work properly. This can cause the person to become dehydrated. A person who suffers from diabetes will also have problems with hydration.

Take a look at the details of how an underlying medical condition may cause dehydration.

What Is Dehydration?

Dehydration is defined as losing more than the normal amount of water in the body. If someone loses more than eight ounces of fluid per day, he or she is said to be dehydrated. While dehydration is not as serious a condition for younger children than it can be for older children or adults, it is still something that can cause someone to become ill. Dehydrated people tend to have:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea

Knowing the symptoms and understanding what dehydration is are very important to having a successful fluid replacement treatment for the needs of your body. If you are sick with fever, nausea, or abdominal pain, or if your blood pressure falls too low, you should contact a doctor as soon as possible. Your symptoms could indicate a more serious condition, which should be treated immediately.

Blood Circulation Disorder

Dehydration can worsen postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or POTS. What is POTS? It is a blood circulation disorder that causes dizziness, chest pain, and brain fog. Standard POTS treatment includes increasing fluid and salt intake.

Diabetes

Dehydration is a common issue among diabetics. As the body loses fluid, it can produce dangerous levels of glucose. While there are several potential causes of dehydration, it is usually caused by a lack of essential electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and calcium.

High blood pressure is also a side effect of diabetes. When a person has diabetes, the kidneys are unable to process glucose efficiently and can become inefficient.

Electrolyte Imbalance

When you have electrolyte imbalance, you might lose sodium, potassium, and calcium. If a person doesn’t have enough of these in the body, it is unable to absorb water and end up using the stored liquid to replace these important substances. This can cause a significant drop in your overall fluid levels. This is when the kidneys go to work harder than it should, and when not attended to properly, it can cause dehydration. 

In addition, when the kidneys do not get enough sodium and other fluids, they begin to reduce the amount of urine produced to compensate for this lack. It is often difficult for the kidneys to balance electrolyte loss, as well as to remove chemicals such as lactic acid from the body. When there’s not enough electrolytes in the body, this creates a situation where the body cannot use the fluids and minerals that are needed most. When this occurs, the body will become very thirsty. When a person has too much fluid in the bloodstream, they will experience nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.

Sodium is one of the electrolytes that can easily be lost because of frequent urination. If the body is not able to retain fluids due to poor diet, it will start to run out of sodium and other electrolytes as the body tries to compensate. When urine starts to flow, excess sodium is quickly filtered out. However, when this does not occur, it is easier for blood to be re-distributed throughout the body, causing an increased level of sodium in the bloodstream or hypernatremia. When this happens, you may feel extremely thirsty.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea can be a result of an underlying condition, such as gastroenteritis or inflammation of the digestive system due to amoeba, bacteria, or parasite. A large amount of water in the body is eliminated by diarrhea, and when this happens, the patient can easily experience fatigue. When your body is unable to retain enough fluids, it can become weak and dehydrated. 

Kidney Disorders

If you already have kidney stones, you may be suffering from dehydration due to the acid in the urine. The acid in the urine is caused by the buildup of calcium carbonate crystals in the urinary tract.

A medical condition called hypercalcemia can result from the dehydration. This medical condition is a serious medical condition and can lead to kidney failure or even death if the person is not treated correctly.

Hypertension

A high amount of electrolyte loss can also occur in some people as a side effect of high blood pressure. If left untreated, hypertension can cause the kidneys to produce too much urine or too little sodium to maintain adequate fluid levels.

How To Prevent Dehydration

Dehydration should never be taken lightly and once you suspect that you’re dehydrated, you should act on it. It is a life-threatening condition that can lead to shock or low blood volume and even death.

Check the following tips to prevent dehydration:

• In order to prevent dehydration and electrolyte loss, proper hydration is important. It is necessary to drink at least eight glasses of water each day. When you’re dehydrated, you need to replenish the fluids lost when you urinate.
• Drinking extra water will help rehydrate the body, especially if it is losing a lot of fluids. You may be able to replenish lost water by drinking fruit juices or other beverages with citrus flavor.
• Eating food with plenty of fiber may also help replenish lost fluids. The fiber in fruits, vegetables, and legumes will help to eliminate toxins from the body. Eating fruits and vegetables are particularly important when you’re suffering from dehydration because these food contain a lot of water. They also contain plenty of fiber and potassium, which help keep your body’s internal organs functioning properly.

Conclusion

Underlying conditions, such as electrolyte imbalance, diabetes, hypertension, and kidney problems may cause fluid imbalance, causing dehydration. That’s why it is crucial for people who have underlying medical conditions to drink enough amount of water to avoid the life-threatening effects. The body tries to compensate fluid loss by manifesting as increased thirst, sweating, and irritability.