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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffMild to moderate dehydration is likely to cause:
- Dry, sticky mouth
- Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual
- Thirst
- Decreased urine output — fewer than six wet diapers a day for infants and eight hours or more without urination for older children and teens
- Few or no tears when crying
- Muscle weakness
- Headache
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
Severe dehydration, a medical emergency, can cause:
- Extreme thirst
- Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults
- Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
- Lack of sweating
- Little or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber
- Sunken eyes
- Shriveled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when pinched into a fold
- In infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head
- Low blood pressure
- Rapid heartbeat
- Fever
- In the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness
Unfortunately, thirst isn't always a reliable gauge of the body's need for water, especially in children and older adults. A better barometer is the color of your urine: Clear or light-colored urine means you're well hydrated, whereas a dark yellow or amber color usually signals dehydration.
When to see a doctor
If you're a healthy adult, you can usually treat mild to moderate dehydration by drinking more fluids. Get immediate medical care if you develop severe signs and symptoms such as extreme thirst, no urination for eight hours, shriveled skin, dizziness and confusion.
Treat children and older adults with greater caution. Call your family doctor right away if your child:
- Develops severe diarrhea, with or without vomiting or fever
- Has had episodes of vomiting for more than eight hours
- Has had moderate diarrhea for three days or more
- Can't keep down fluids
- Is irritable or disoriented and much sleepier or less active than usual
- Has any of the signs or symptoms of mild or moderate dehydration
Go to the nearest hospital emergency room or call 911 or your emergency medical number if you think a child or older adult is severely dehydrated. You can help prevent dehydration from becoming severe by carefully monitoring someone who is sick and giving fluids at the first sign of diarrhea, vomiting or fever and by encouraging children to drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
- 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).
