Top 5 Reasons to Visit an Emergency Room: Dehydration
When it comes to the body, one thing that almost everyone out there will be aware of is that the body is made up of mostly water. The figures as far as the composition of the body is concerned stand at about 60% water, with the percentage going up to 75% when it comes to infants and babies. What this shows is that water is a major component in the body and in fact without water, a lot of the body processes would not be able to function smoothly. This explains why we are always advised by experts, including those at FrontlineER.com, to take in lots of water and fluids a day, around eight 8-ounce glasses of water or about 2 liters of the same per day. A lack of enough fluids in your body is what dehydration is, and its effects serve to bring into sharp focus just how important water is to the body. Speaking of dehydration, just like in many other conditions to do with the body and its health, it ranges from mild, moderate and severe. What this means is that, in most cases, that is in moderate and mild dehydration, it is not what would be termed as a medical emergency. However, in severe cases, it can be potentially life-threatening and as such should lead to an immediate visit to an emergency room. To find out the top five reasons to visit an emergency room for dehydration, keep on reading this article.
The very first reason to visit an emergency room for dehydration is if it involves newborns and infants. Dehydration in newborns and infants, as is discussed in detail over at FrontlineER.com, should always be treated with the utmost seriousness as this age demographic is pretty vulnerable. Here, the red flags to look out for, those that indicate dehydration, include sunken eyes and soft spot, crying with no tears, extremely reduced urination where the baby can go for over 3 hours without wetting their diapers and being extremely irritable. Dehydration in newborns should never be looked at in terms of severity and one should be taken to an emergency room as soon as possible when they start to show symptoms of the same.
One very reliable indicator as far as dehydration is concerned, one that will show you that you need to visit an emergency room for the same has to do with your urine. As a rule of thumb, if you go for a long period of time without urinating, then this is usually a sign that you may be suffering from dehydration and as such should head over to an emergency room. The number to look out for here is 12 and as such, if you go for 12 hours or more without urinating then you should visit an emergency room for dehydration. The color of the urine also serves to show if you need to visit an emergency room for dehydration. If your urine has a very dark color, then you also need to head over to an emergency room to be attended to for dehydration.
Another reliable barometer that indicates if you need to visit an emergency room for dehydration, one that is backed by the experts over at FrontlineER.com, is your skin. Here, if you develop an extremely dry skin, one that is extremely dry to the touch, then this is a sign of severe dehydration and one that tells us that you need to head over to an emergency room as soon as possible to be attended to. Another red flag to keep our eyes peeled out for as far as the skin is concerned is if one’s skin becomes very inelastic and doesn’t bounce back when pinched. This is yet another telltale sign of severe dehydration and should lead to an immediate visit to an emergency room.
One should also ensure they head over to an emergency room as soon as possible if they are experiencing the above signs of dehydration as well as other serious symptoms. These include a feeling of dizziness, loss of consciousness and passing out, seizures, difficulties breathing such as shortness of breath, severe headache, high fever accompanied by fever-like symptoms such as chills, feeling of extreme lethargy and lack of energy, abdominal pain or even chest pain, extremely low blood pressure, a rapid heartbeat among many others. These symptoms may just ne confirming that you have severe dehydration, or may indicate that the dehydration is as a result of a serious medical condition and as such should always be taken seriously.
Another reason that should ensure that you visit an emergency room for dehydration is if you are suffering from a chronic disease such as diabetes and are presenting with dehydration symptoms that seem to be worsening. This, as per the gurus over at FrontlineER.com, should always be taken very seriously. Pregnant women who are experiencing severe vomiting and can’t keep fluids down should also head over to an emergency room for dehydration as this situation could have adverse effects on both the mother and the baby.
The above five reasons should always be taken seriously as far as dehydration is concerned and one should ensure they visit an emergency room for any of them. As usual, there is more to be found on this and other related topics over at FrontlineER.com so ensure you check them out.
