How to Fight Dehydration

Last summer, I had a seizure. In my home, during the middle of the day, I stood up from my couch to wash dishes and dropped as I walked to my kitchen. My boys were present, and it scared all of us! Since the seizure had never occurred before, off I went to see a heart specialist. After a couple of newer tests, the diagnosis of Chronic Low-Blood Pressure, was a relief. But what exactly is it? This means that when I stand up, gravity causes more than the normal 15% of blood that a healthy person has drop, to pool below my heart. This extreme drop triggers my brain, which tells the heart to pump furiously in order to get my blood pressure regulated. The slight increase of my heart rate causes me to faint, or have a seizure, depending on how high my heart has to beat per minute. I have been struggling since I was at least 10 years old with bouts of dizziness, and fainting. I had always been a very active child, and in school the sudden fainting when I stood up from my desk didn’t seem important. They were isolated incidents and only struck every couple years or so, when I least expected it. When I was a teenager, they happened during my lunch hours from work, after I ate, but always when I stood up from a sitting position.

Over the years, my doctors attributed it to a congenital heart defect. I was prescribed a beta blocker in my early twenties, after the birth of my oldest son. I noticed that if I forgot to take it, I had slight problems. Certain kinds of alcohol have never sat well with me. On some occasions, whether out dancing at night or engaging in midday summer activities, alcohol was not something I could even sip without having sharp pains in my shoulder. I had always been worried about stroke, but my doctor assured me to watch my diet and stick to my beta blocker.

I have always loved summer. During the past few years, I noticed that my energy level during the hot months was falling. I get pretty tired, and I was more fatigued than I used to be. The new recommendations that my doctor gave me were to avoid activities like the Jacuzzi, sauna’s and lounging around in the sun! I was already lamenting the loss of that kind of fun as my kids get older, and don’t like going to Darien Lake, Fantasy Island, or the local pool with mom, the way we used to.

I also noticed over the past few years, that with my love for summer dwindling, my love for the winter months have escalated. Naturally, snow is a must for Niagara County, NY. It is something you must learn to safely drive through in order to get around here. You always have to be prepared in case you slide off the road. In my youth, my grandfather always made sure my grandmother and I had blankets, ice scrapers, and bags of rock salt in our vehicles. New York winter weather is a tad bipolar. It might be nice and sunny during the morning hours, but then suddenly there’s a blizzard, with zero visibility, by lunch!

When you have Chronic Low Blood Pressure, colder environments are best. The heat of the hotter environments can cause quick dehydration, which in turn causes blood pressure to drop. If I had High Blood Pressure, the warmer environments would be best. The summer activities of laying around in the sun, sitting in a Jacuzzi or sauna while you're on vacation, pull out the fluids your body needs. The warnings posted at the gym and hotels are there to prevent dangerous drownings and accidents. The most important thing to remember when diagnosed with Chronic Low Blood Pressure is to keep hydrated. Especially in the summer!

Keep an eye on yourself and your loved ones! Sometimes we get so busy, we forget to drink anything. Children and the elderly may not even realize that they're thirsty. Below are some helpful tips to help prevent dehydration, recognize the symptoms, and get rehydrated during summertime!

To prevent dehydration, doctors recommend we avoid caffeine, alcohol, and junk foods. These are all diuretics and work to flush fluids OUT of your body.

Signs of dehydration: Heart palpitations (a fluttering in your chest), vertigo or dizziness (when the room spins or you feel like you're on an elevator), feeling cold or having a fever, headache, bad breath (dry mouth and tongue from no saliva causes sticky tongue; no saliva to lubricate your mouth), no tears in babies and children, babies have a dry diaper after 3 hours, sunken eyes and babies have a sunken soft spot on the top of their skull, crankiness and confusion (in adults and children), fatigue (lack of energy), muscle cramping, and dry skin (when pinched, your skin will not flatten when released).

Foods that Help Re-Hydrate Fast

Fruit with at least 90% water, like melons, strawberries, and blueberries, and contain fiber to help your body retain their liquids. Banana’s also have helpful natural sugars and potassium that your body uses to rehydrate.

Salty foods help regulate sodium in your body, so keep pretzels, pita chips, or salted banana chips handy. If there’s too much salt in your daily diet, you can easily become dehydrated, but too little salt makes it difficult for you to re-hydrate.

Lay down so you use as little of your body’s energy as possible. The more activity you do, the more energy you use, the more water gets depleted through sweating. Lay down and rest yourself!

A lime, or lemon, cocktail can help your body retain water. I like to drink water with honey, and I always throw lemon slices into my water bottle. I passed my habit onto my kids, which is always a healthy habit to have! I usually take it with me everywhere, because it’s easy to replenish wherever I am. A cocktail with sugar sweetened water, a dash of salt, and lime juice squeezed into it can work just the same.

Most soups contain sodium and water. Both are what your body needs to rehydrate! Although I always sweat when I eat soup (I have no idea why!), it’s one of my favorites when it gets cold out. Doctors recommend it, so throw some veggies in for an added nutritional boost!

Yogurt has always been another favorite of mine. It’s loaded with much needed water (almost 90%) and has the very useful sodium and potassium for rehydrating.

Plain water is always good, but sip slowly! If you chug this stuff down, you will counteract the rehydration process and wind up nauseated, and possibly always in the bathroom, excessively urinating all the liquid you wanted to retain. Not cool!

During the early days, there was a drink called 'Switchel'. In Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I read about how they prevented dehydration using sugared water, while working in the fields, to prevent the effects of drinking too much plain water, too quickly! Maybe I should try some of that ginger in the concoction I use?

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