Hydration 101: How to keep from becoming dehydrated during hot weather conditions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With temperatures set to climb to a potentially dangerous level for the human body, hydration is extra important, and if you don't, the results can be serious.
Battling dehydration on a day like today starts long before you even venture out of the house.
More than half of our body weight is water and when the sun beats down, we sweat away some of that water in an effort to cool down.
In extreme heat, it happens fast and dehydration is very real.
"Some of the signs and symptoms can include headache, muscle aches, muscle cramps, some nausea, maybe even dizziness and light-headedness," said Dr. Tom Waters from the Cleveland Clinic's Emergency Department.
Dr. Waters says that because dehydration happens when you're expelling more water than you're taking in, start drinking water before you head into the heat, avoid caffeine and alcohol, and drink 8 oz. of water every 15-20 minutes when you're feeling the heat stress.
"If one notices that they are starting to have any mental status changes or neurologic changes, that means you are moving into heat stroke," Dr. Waters said.
You may even stop sweating, at which point, you're beyond the level of dehydration relief that drinking some water might provide.
"That is an acute life-threatening condition and that needs to be addressed in your local, closest emergency department," Dr. Waters said.
Don't delay. Heat stroke can lead to organ failure or even death.
Kids are very vulnerable to dehydration as well.
For all of us, 8 oz. of water every 20 minutes may seem like a lot, but you want to take in more than you're sweating out, and it doesn't have to be plain water. It could also be a sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade.