How do you reduce the risks of hypovolemia?

Answer 1

The actual question being asked is the following:

"How does one lower their risk for dehydration (aka. hypovolemia)?"

We have all heard answers to the above question...most often during the summer.

Here are a few simple recommendations:

1. Stay well hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. Especially water.

2. Avoid beverages that will dehydrate you, causing your body to lose fluid through excess urination. These include coffee, any caffeinated beverages (soda, tea) and alcohol. Even decaffeinated coffee has been found to have minute amounts of caffeine.

If you do consume any of these beverages, drink 2 glasses of water per 1 of these beverages consumed.

3. Excessive sweating, or "normal" sweating, especially when outside in the heat can lead to hypovolemia. Sweat is the body's way of cooling off and lowering one's temperature when too hot.

We can see this when we are ill and have a high fever. Our bodies sweat to 'break the fever'...when in essence, our bodies are regulating its temperature. Avid runners may also experience hypovolemia through excessive sweating, as their bodies are continually thermoregulating.

4. Diarrhea can lead to hypovolemia. One can easily become dehydrated by having diarrhea. Water that is usually absorbed by the large intestine is lost instead through the rectum. This is commonly seen with viral or bacterial gastrointestinal infections, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (to excess) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (ie. Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis)