Staying hydrated is important for everyone, regardless of age. What you may not know is as you grow older, hydration is not only more important, but harder to achieve.
The basics of water in your body
Our bodies are about 60% water. You lose water when you breathe out, urinate, and sweat. To make sure your body has plenty of water to function, you should drink between 6 to 8 cups of water a day.
As we age, however, the water content in our bodies decreases—sometimes as much as 50%—making it more critical to drink water. It’s harder to retain water, meaning you have less water in your body to start with, and many elderly forget to drink water throughout the day. This makes dehydration more of a risk for you.
Why are elderly more at risk?
You’ve probably noticed as you age, many things change. The changes that contribute to dehydration include:
- You feel less thirsty
- Chronic illness disrupts everything, especially drinking fluids
- Dementia makes it hard to remember to drink
- Lack of appetite makes water unattractive
- Certain medications reduce your thirst
- A weak bladder makes some reluctant to drink fluids
- Restricted mobility makes some reluctant to ask for help
The effects of dehydration
You may experience levels of symptoms depending on if you have mild or severe dehydration. They run the gamut from headaches or irritability to muscle cramps and low blood pressure. If you let dehydration become chronic, however, you’ll face serious complications like:
- Swelling in your brain
- Kidney failure
- Seizures
- Coma and possibly death
How to prevent dehydration
Talk to your home care provider to help you create a plan to stay hydrated. In particular, work with your home care agency to make sure you:
- Drink between each meal
- Track how much you drink and how much you lose/urinate
- Have access to water or fluids all day
- Try different hydrating fluids to keep you engaged
- Make hydrating easy with straws or cups with handles
- Add fruits and vegetables with high water content into your diet
Final thoughts
Home carers are experts at making sure you have everything you need to stay healthy and safe at home as you age. This includes tips to help you drink more water to decrease your risk of dehydration. Since prolonged dehydration puts you at risk for hospitalization with a variety of health complications, it makes sense to get in touch with your home care workers to create a plan that helps you easily avoid dehydration.
