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Explain How Dehydration Is Dangerous in Adults and in Infants and Children

The documents discuss dehydration in infants, children, and adults. Infants are at high risk of dehydration when they have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea since they rely on breastfeeding or formula for fluid replenishment. Signs of dehydration in infants include dry lips and mouth, fewer wet diapers, and lack of interest in feeding. Children are also susceptible to dehydration due to their higher metabolic rate and body surface area. Even mild dehydration of 2% can significantly impact a child's strength and stamina. Adults, especially older adults, can become dehydrated due to age-related changes, chronic illness, medications, and environmental factors.

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46 views5 pages

Explain How Dehydration Is Dangerous in Adults and in Infants and Children

The documents discuss dehydration in infants, children, and adults. Infants are at high risk of dehydration when they have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea since they rely on breastfeeding or formula for fluid replenishment. Signs of dehydration in infants include dry lips and mouth, fewer wet diapers, and lack of interest in feeding. Children are also susceptible to dehydration due to their higher metabolic rate and body surface area. Even mild dehydration of 2% can significantly impact a child's strength and stamina. Adults, especially older adults, can become dehydrated due to age-related changes, chronic illness, medications, and environmental factors.

Uploaded by

Montadher
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Dehydration in Infants

Infants loses fluid everyday through urine, faeces, sweat, crying, and even breathing.
This natural loss of fluid is quickly compensated with breastfeeding, though.
Nonetheless, if not compensated, loss of fluid in your baby’s body wouldlead to
dehydration. Infants Are at high risk of dehydration when fever, vomiting, and
diarrhea occur .
Dehydration can either be mild, medium, or very dangerous. No matter the
intensity, urgent medical treatment is a must in order to avoid complications and
unexpected health problems.
Signs of dehydration are numerous, so we’re going to share with you the most
prominent amongst them:

- Dry lips
- Dry mouth
- Fewer than 6 wet diapers in 24 hours
- Lack of interest in breastfeeding
- Lethargy
- Irritability
- Dark, smelly urine
- Crying without tears
- Sunken eyes
- Cold hands and feet
Dehydration in Children's

Dehydration can dramatically affect a child’s ability to perform well. As little as a 2% decrease in body
weight from fluid loss (e.g., a 1.2-lb loss for a 60-lb child) can lead to a significant decrease in
muscular strength and stamina.
One must be alert for signs of dehydration or underfeeding, including early fatigue, irritability, or a
sudden drop in performance. Those supervising exercise for children with special needs should be
aware that certain conditions will increase the likelihood of heat illness. For example, children with
mental retardation may not recognize the need to replace fluid losses. Those with diabetes mellitus,
diabetes insipidus, or gastrointestinal infection may experience greater than normal fluid losses.
Certain congenital heart defects may result in excessive sweating, whereas cystic fibrosis may result in
diminished thirst. Certain medications have diuretic effects. Finally, anorexia or obesity also affects
thermoregulation. The danger signs below

• Sunken eyes
• More pronounced skin turgor
• Vomiting
• High fever – above 39.4°C
• The lining of his mouth/tongue is covered by dry or sticky mucous membranes
• He is very lethargic and is less active than normal (especially if he has difficulty waking up from
sleep or lapses into unconsciousness)

Infants and children are more susceptible to dehydration than Adult because of
• their large ratio of body surface area to weight, which causes more evaporative
water losses .
• their susceptibility to metabolic water loss during febrile periods.
• a normally higher metabolic rate in children weighing less than 15.
Dehydration in Adults

Dehydration is a concern for healthy and chronically ill adults. Physiologic changes, effects of
disease, medications, and environmental circumstances predispose people to inadequate fluid
intake. Changes in the hypothalamus alter the thirst mechanism such that older persons do
not get thirsty and drink when or as much as they should, and aging kidneys are less able to
conserve water to compensate for lower intake. Changes in total body water influence the
dilution of medications.
Dehydration affects alertness and cognitive function. The general recommendation of
1500 mL/day increases when outdoor or indoor temperatures rise. In patients with fever, daily
fluid needs increase by 500 mL for each degree Centigrade beyond normal. Adults of any age
may experience some of these symptoms if dehydrated.

• Extreme thirst
• Less frequent urination
• Dark-colored urine
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Fever
• Excessive sweating
REFERENCES
Dehydration in Infants
Dehydration in Infants Link

Dehydration in Children's

• Shirley W. Ekvall,Valli K. Ekvall - PEDIATRIC AND ADULT NUTRITION IN CHRONIC DISEASES, DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES, AND HEREDITARY METABOLIC DISORDERS - Published in the United States of America by Oxford
University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America - Oxford University Press
– 2017 - part7 - Page 74.
• Shirley W. Ekvall,Valli K. Ekvall -PEDIATRIC AND ADULT NUTRITION IN CHRONIC DISEASES, DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES, AND HEREDITARY METABOLIC DISORDERS – Published in the United States of America by Oxford
University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America – Oxford University Press
– 2017 - part2 - Page 21, 22.
• linked

Dehydration in Adults

• Eleanor D. Schlenker, Joyce Gilbert - WILLIAMS’ ESSENTIALS OF NUTRITION & DIET THERAPY - printed in
China - Mosby, an imprint of Elsevier Inc - year 2015 - part 2 – Page 312.
• Url linked

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