Question

1. overview of dehydration

2. brief explanation of pathophysiology related to dehydration

3. impact of dehydration may have on older adults

4. identification and rationalism of two key health promotions messages related to dehydration

5. justification of one smart goal and assiciations actions related to dehydration

6. Where to get more information or assistance in relates to dehydration

Answer 1

1. overview of dehydration

A dangerous loss of body fluid caused by illness, sweating, or inadequate intake.Dehydration happens when your body doesn't have as much water as it needs. Without enough, your body can't function properly. You can have mild, moderate, or severe dehydration depending on how much fluid is missing from your body.

Causes

It’s normal to lose water from your body every day by sweating, breathing, peeing, and pooping, and through tears and saliva . Usually you replace the lost liquid by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. If you lose too much water or don’t drink and eat enough, you can get dehydrated.

You can lose more water than usual with:

• A fever
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Excessive sweating
• Excessive urine(Diabetes and some medications like diuretics -- can make you pee more often.)

You may not replace the water you lose because:

• You’re busy and forget to drink enough.
• You don’t realize you’re thirsty.
• You don’t feel like drinking because you have a sore throat or mouth sores, or you’re sick to your stomach.

Symptoms

Signs of mild or moderate dehydration include:

• Thirst
• Dry or sticky mouth
• Not peeing very much
• Dark yellow pee
• Dry, cool skin
• Headache
• Muscle cramps

Signs of severe dehydration include:

• Not peeing or having very dark yellow pee
• Very dry skin
• Feeling dizzy
• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid breathing
• Sunken eyes
• Sleepiness, lack of energy, confusion or irritability
• Fainting

Symptoms for babies and young children can be different than for adults:

• Dry mouth and tongue
• No tears when crying
• Dry diapers for 3 hours
• Sunken eyes, cheeks, the soft spot on the top of the skull
• Sleepiness, lack of energy, or irritability

Severe dehydration is a medical emergency and needs to be treated immediately.

Q2 pathophysiology related to dehydration

The negative fluid balance that causes dehydration results from decreased intake, increased output (renal, gastrointestinal [GI], or insensible losses), or fluid shift (ascites, effusions, and capillary leak states such as burns and sepsis). The decrease in total body water causes reductions in both the intracellular and extracellular fluid volumes. Clinical manifestations of dehydration are most closely related to intravascular volume depletion and the physiologic compensation attempts that takes place. As dehydration progresses, hypovolemic shock ultimately ensues, resulting in end organ failure and death.

Q3 impact of dehydration on older adults

Common complications associated with dehydration include low blood pressure, weakness, dizziness and increased risk of falls.

Severe dehydration is associated with poor health outcomes such as increased hospitalization, and mortality especially in the elderly ; for example a two-fold increase in the mortality of stroke patients has been reported.

Even mild dehydration adversely affects mental performance and increases feelings of tiredness. Mental functions affected include memory, attention, concentration and reaction time.

Poorly hydrated individuals are more likely to develop pressure sores and skin conditions.

Water helps to keep the urinary tract and kidneys healthy. When fluid intake is reduced the risk of urinary tract infections increases. Inadequate hydration is one of the main causes of acute kidney injury.

Inadequate fluid intake is also one of the most common causes of constipation. In individuals who are not adequately hydrated, drinking more fluid can increase stool frequency and enhance the beneficial effect of fiber intake.

4 "Drinking water and your health" is the headline of health promotion messages related to dehydration for the Australian government. They explain the rationale by saying "Water is an essential part of a healthy balanced diet because the body relies on it to function properly. Between 50% and 80% of the human body is made up of water. All the body’s chemical processes take place in water. We need water for digestion, to absorb nutrients, to help us move, get rid of waste products and to regulate our body temperature.If the body doesn’t have enough water (known as dehydration), it won’t function as well. People who don’t drink enough water every day are at greater risk of kidney stones, problems with their heart valves and some kinds of cancer. Even minor dehydration can affect physical and mental performance."

"Healthy hydration guide for adults and teenagers" Is the caption of British nutrition foundation that emphasizes the need for preventing dehydration and the requirement of water in different age groups. they say thatWater is essential for life and it is very important to get the right amount of fluid to be healthy. However there are lots of mixed messages about how much, and what to drink and this can be confusing.The organization give consensus for why fluid is important, the effects of different drinks on health, and the needs of particular groups of people in the population.

5.

SMART goal:to study Associations existing between hydration and athletic performance in high school 5-mile running athletes

• Specific: to investigate the effects of dehydration and rehydration on 5-mile running athletes with definite hydrating plans .
• Measurable: document the difference in the performance of athletes with rehydration policies with the time taken to cover 5 miles
• Achievable: the time for the goal would be one month
• Realistic: to watch for daily improvement in their performance
• Timely: starting from 1st of next month to the 30 of the same month(30) days

6. information or assistance in relates to dehydration

Thousands of articles are available in the indexed journals on the internet. You can access them through any research paper websites like Pubmed , google scholar. also many government websites and the World Health Organisations e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA) give access to further information on this topic.