Whos at the greatest risk for dehydration?
Well, we’re all at risk for dehydration if we don’t drink enough water, but children and seniors seem to be at the highest risk. Many kids don’t drink water. Instead, kids drink lots of sugar drinks (juice with high fructose corn syrup added) and sodas. Newsday reports that more than 186,000 children are hospitalized for dehydration in the U.S. every year. Seniors very often don’t drink any water. They prefer tea or other drinks. These beverages are solutes, containing materials or other dissolved solids. Water containing a large amount of dissolved solids does not have as high a driving force to exchange cellular fluids, which is an impediment to hydration. Diuretics such as caffeine and alcohol may have a net dehydrating effect by altering the body’s fluid balance mechanism to discharge fluids. The phosphates in sodas also rob the body of oxygen. With seniors, the risk of dehydration can be more acute. Women are at greater risk for dehydration than men because they have less muscle m
