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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffDehydration can lead to serious complications, including:
- Heat injury. Inadequate fluid intake combined with vigorous exercise and heavy perspiration can lead to heat injury, ranging in severity from mild heat cramps to heat exhaustion to potentially life-threatening heatstroke.
- Swelling of the brain (cerebral edema). Most often, the fluid you lose when you're dehydrated contains the same amount of sodium your blood does (isotonic dehydration). In some instances, though, you may lose more sodium than fluid (hypotonic dehydration). To compensate for this loss, your body produces particles that pull water back into the cells. As a result, your cells may absorb too much water during the rehydration process, causing them to swell and rupture. The consequences are especially grave when brain cells are affected.
- Seizures. These occur when the normal electrical discharges in your brain become disorganized, leading to involuntary muscle contractions and sometimes to a loss of consciousness.
- Hypovolemic shock. This is one of the most serious complications of dehydration. It occurs when low blood volume causes a drop in blood pressure and a corresponding reduction in the amount of oxygen reaching your tissues. If untreated, severe hypovolemic shock can cause death in a matter of minutes.
- Kidney failure. This potentially life-threatening problem occurs when your kidneys are no longer able to remove excess fluids and waste from your blood.
- Coma and death. When not treated promptly and appropriately, severe dehydration can be fatal.
References
- Dehydration. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: The Merck Manual for Patients and Caregivers.
- http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec12/ch158/ch158b.html. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008.
- Wanke CA. Acute diarrhea in adults.
- http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=inf_immu/8950. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008.
- Dehydration and fluid maintenance. National Guidelines Clearinghouse.
- http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?doc_id=3305. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008.
- Vomiting and diarrhea in children. American Academy of Family Physicians.
- http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/common/stomach/196.html. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008.
- Fleisher GR. Acute diarrhea in children.
- http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~eeVWYOJxLfOU3e. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008.
- Diarrhea. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/diarrhea. Accessed Oct. 25, 2008.
- Preventing dehydration from diarrhea. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2001;285(3):362.
- Wellbery C. Diagnosing dehydration in children. American Family Physician. 2005;71(5).
