Dehydration Essay, Research Paper

Dehydration is more serious in the summer for most people, unless you are sixty-five years or older. There are a couple of reasons for this. The bodies of the elderly are comprised of 50% water, while the bodies of younger people are comprised of 75% water. Some elderly are weak and may find it trying to get up and walk. Others may be in wheelchairs and simply can not get out that easily. For these reasons some older people restrict the water that they intake to cope with incontinence or so that they do not have to make so many trips to the bathroom. Another reason dehydration is worse in the elderly is that their water needs do not become less as they grow older and less active, which is the thought of a large number of senior citizens.

As humans, our bodies lose the sense of thirst as we get older. For this, dehydration in the elderly is a lot more dangerous. Many seniors are also on medication and that also dries the body out. If someone is on medication that dries him or her out and has a diminished sense of thirst they may come down with a severe case of dehydration and not even know it until they are seriously ill. If a senior is on medication and thinks they may have a loss of sense of thirst, they should make sure they drink at least 8 full 8 oz glasses of water a day and pay attention to dehydration symptoms.