By: Jennifer Beach, LSW, MA, C-SWCM
Dehydration, Part 2:
In my May blog post, I discussed the many reasons dehydration increases as we age, and the issues and problems dehydration can cause in older adults. Dehydration is a serious and common occurrence with many older adults, especially for those living alone or even in senior care communities.
As an Aging Life Care Professional® I have observed far too many older adults who are dehydrated, which exacerbates and poses additional challenges to the medical conditions they may already have. I feel passionate about the importance of understanding dehydration. I like helping and educating older adults, their families, and care partners to understand the seriousness of dehydration, and finding ways to improve and keep older adults safely hydrated. This article highlights the signs of dehydration and how to encourage and help individuals stay hydrated.
Signs of Dehydration in the Elderly
- Dry mouth/dry tongue with thick salvia
- Cramping in the limbs
- Crying but no tears
- Headaches
- Body weakness
- Sleeplessness/irritability
- Low urine output
- Dry skin
- Constipation
One of the quickest ways to test if someone is dehydrated is to lift the skin on the back of their hand. Take your pointer finger and thumb, pinch a section of skin from the back of their hand, lift up, and let go. If their skin quickly falls back onto the top of their hand, they are likely not dehydrated.
If the signs of dehydration mentioned are present but ignored, they can become life-threatening, and the proceeding symptoms could occur:
- Rapid but weak heart rate
- Sunken eyes
- Low blood pressure
- No sweating
- Delirium
- Convulsions
- Bloated stomach
- Seizures
- Kidney failure
Keeping an older adult hydrated can be a real challenge. Many older adults do not want to drink “too much fluid” as this will require them many trips to the bathroom. Often for those with mobility issues and many other medical reasons, they simply do not want to drink. Here are some tips to helping keep older adults (and yourself) hydrated:
1. Measure how much your loved one (or yourself) is actually drinking most days.
This can require a little extra effort. But it’s very helpful to get at least an estimate of how much the person drinks. This can confirm a family’s or doctor’s hunch that the person isn’t taking in enough fluid and can help the care team figure out how much more fluid is required.
The recommendation for older adults is to consume at least 1.7 liters per day, which corresponds to at least 57.5 fluid ounces. A cup is 8 ounces, so this is equivalent to 7.1 cups daily.
Keep a journal to record how much fluid the older adult (or yourself) is drinking is one way to collect real data. Tracking information is an excellent way to identify where an individual’s baseline is and what the improvement goal is.
2. Pay attention: Work to figure out which fluids the older adult prefers to drink and try scheduling frequent small drinks.
Ultimately, there’s no substitute for paying close attention, keeping track of your observations, and doing some trial and error to figure out what seems to improve things.
Usually, a combination of the following three approaches will improve fluid intake:
- Offer a beverage the person likes
- Offer small-to-moderate quantities of the beverage on schedule
- Address any urinary incontinence concerns
You can also increase fluid intake by offering foods that contain a lot of water, such as watermelon or soup.
Make sure they always have liquids around them. A refillable water bottle works well. Keep a fresh one next to their bed or chair if they have mobility issues. If they do not like drinking plain water, try adding some fruit. Berries, lemons and limes are a great addition to water for flavor. Other items that can help with taste are cucumbers and mint.
Stay away from caffeine, sugary drinks and alcohol. If too much coffee, juice, soda, wine, etc. are consumed, each can actually speed up the dehydration process.
3. Know their medications.
Some medications (like diuretics) can cause an elderly person to become dehydrated even faster than normal. Stay mindful of the medications they are taking so you can increase their normal fluid intake, if necessary. Offer fluids often throughout the day; consider doing so on a schedule. Consider a timed toileting schedule. You can help the older person get to the bathroom on a regular schedule. This can be very helpful for people with memory problems or mobility difficulties
Our bodies are made mostly of water. Like a sponge, we dry out if the water doesn’t come from somewhere else. Everything in our body works better when it’s hydrated. As we age, we must realize and understand the role water plays on and with our bodies. Do not put yourself or your loved ones at risk with something we can have some control over.
Original Article: https://www.northeastohioboomer.com/blogs/dehydration-part-2-how-to-stay-hydrated-as-we-age/