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Dehydration and Seniors

Donna Nichols • August 12, 2021

Tips on Prevention and Treatment

Staying hydrated is so important for everyone, but especially more important for seniors.

A lot of seniors will just sometimes forget to drink enough and that makes it even harder to ensure they are hydrated. For seniors, good hydration ensures their medications work properly.

Some health risks that come with dehydration:

  • shock
  • heatstroke
  • fainting
  • seizures
  • kidney failure or stones
  • urinary tract infections.

Of course, these can happen in anyone, but when you’re older you can’t fight them off like you used to.

Also, when you’re older you don’t realize you’re dehydrated because seniors have less efficient kidneys so the urine contains more water and seniors have a decreased ability to keep fluids in balance with their bodies.

Tips for Prevention and Treatment of dehydration in Seniors

Symptoms of dehydration

Here are some of the symptoms of dehydration. There are mild and severe symptoms; mild symptoms can usually be rectified by you or someone else, severe symptoms require medical assistance.

Mild Symptoms

  1. Dry mouth
  2. Tiredness
  3. Infrequent urination
  4. Dizziness
  5. Headaches
  6. Irritability

The best way to treat mild dehydration is by replacing the lost fluids with drinking water or another liquid containing electrolytes.

Do NOT drink sugary liquids such as sodas .

Severe Symptoms

  1. Bloated stomach
  2. Low blood pressure
  3. Convulsions
  4. Severe cramping
  5. Confusion
  6. Dry, sunken eyes

The only way to treat severe symptoms of dehydration is by an IV with electrolytes and salt.

PLEASE seek immediate medical assistance.

How much water do seniors need?

You can figure how much water you need to drink pretty easily; you divide your body weight in half to get the number of ounces you need to drink a day.

For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you would need to drink 80 ounces of water. A glass holds 8 ounces, so you would need to drink 10 glasses of water a day.

Benefits of drinking enough water

Drinking enough water can help keep you healthy, but can also help with the following:

  • Less constipation
  • Fewer falls
  • Less urinary tract infections
  • Reduced risk of colorectal cancer

If you’re planning on being outside, especially here in Ormond Beach, Florida , your water intake will need to be considerably higher. The heat and sun can drain your body of the fluids you need and you can become dehydrated quickly.

Do not drink cold water too quickly, it can actually make you sick as it can cause your body to go into shock. This is rare and pretty severe, but it can happen. So just be careful.

I always drink room temperature water when on the golf course. One day it was extremely hot and I thought I’d take some cold water, BIG mistake.

Yes, it tasted so good and it was very refreshing, but I drank it so quickly that I was sick to my stomach and almost vomited. I stick with the room temperature water from now on and have iced tea when I go inside.

Please make sure your loved one stays hydrated, it’s so important to their health and well-being!

Should you notice signs of dehydration, PLEASE seek assistance immediately!!

Stay hydrated my friends!!!

If you’re looking for other senior living articles and resources then click here.

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Make Valentine’s Day Special for Seniors

By Donna Nichols • February 5, 2025
Valentine’s Day tends to zero in on romantic love, but what about our seniors? They too often get forgotten. We have some ways to make Valentine’s Day special for them too. Spend the day with your loved one. Spending quality time with a loved one is more important to a senior than anything else. There is no greater gift than time and please make sure you have enough, so you are not rushed. Do your elderly loved one have a favorite meal? Perhaps you can prepare it for them, or if they are able, you can prepare it together. How fun would that be for you both? Be sure to discuss the enjoyment it brought you while you are sharing the meal together. How about a game of name that love song? You could prepare a playlist of love songs from the generation and play them to see how many they get correct. Or, if you can sing, you can sing some for them and see if they can recollect them. Take some time for reminiscing, go through old photo albums, or ask about old times. Ask them about when you were young and what trouble you caused; this will give you all something to laugh (or cry) about. Has your loved one been cooped up all winter? Take them out for a nice lunch, or weather permitting, a picnic in the park. Go for coffee and a donut, then head out to see a movie. Make a “date” of it. Maybe your senior is into crafts. You can design special Valentine’s Day cards for other family members. This way your senior can express their love for them and send it to them in their own unique way. You can create other greeting cards as well. Bake some special treats together. Does your senior have some favorite cookies or cake? You could bake it together, or you can bake it for them. Then you can enjoy it after you have the meal you prepared together. Yummy, delicious!! You can watch some romantic movies together if they prefer to stay in the house or the weather isn’t so good. If they like to color, you can buy them some of those large coloring books and you can color together. Don’t forget the decorations and the flowers! Make the house or apartment as festive as possible. Even if they live in as assisted living community, you can still decorate their room to the nines! Make it as festive as possible! If you live in another state or can’t be close to your senior for Valentine’s Day, how about sending them a specially crafted care package. You can hand make some gifts, add some photos of family and friends, and send a personally recorded message. You can bake some homemade treats and incorporate some things that are of personal interest to them. This will show how much you care for them and make their Valentine’s Day extra special even if you can’t be with them.  There are so many ways to make Valentine’s Day special for seniors. Let’s not forget about them; make sure to show them they are so loved too!

February is National Heart Month

By Donna Nichols • February 4, 2025
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Hydration Tips for the Winter

By Donna Nichols • January 8, 2025
I’ve written many blogs about the importance of staying hydrated in the summer, but did you know it’s just as important to stay hydrated in the winter months? I’ve shared some important tips on how to stay hydrated in the winter and why. Cold, dry air can dehydrate you easily and quickly. Even if you don’t feel thirsty. Proper hydration can help regulate your body temperature, maintain healthy organ function, and prevent fatigue, dry skin, and headaches. In the colder months, you do not feel thirsty, that’s why it’s so important to make sure you drink plenty of water. Why is winter hydration so important? Colder air tends to be drier causing moisture to evaporate through your breathing which can cause dehydration. In colder weather, you may not feel as thirsty, causing you to become dehydrated quickly. Also, wearing more clothing traps sweat inside your clothing causing more fluid loss. What are some of the benefits of staying hydrated in the winter? • Drinking enough water helps keep your skin hydrated and prevents dryness. This will help with that dry, itchy skin feeling we all get in the winter. • Water helps your body maintain a regular core temperature. Which is so important to maintain in the winter. • Drinking plenty of water supports your immune system, which helps fight off winter colds and the flu. We all want to fight those germs off! • When you are dehydrated, you become tired easily, so drinking plenty of water helps keep your energy levels up. How do you stay hydrated in the winter? • Make sure you drink plenty of water. Set reminders if you must; you probably won’t feel as thirsty in the winter, but you need to keep drinking that water! • You don’t have to drink cold water; room temperature water works. You can also drink tea or water with lemon, as long as you’re getting your water. • If you’re going out, carry a water bottle with you to ensure you have water to drink. • Eat fruits and vegetables that contain water. Tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, watermelon, cauliflower, mushrooms, cucumber, apples, and pineapple are just a few that contain high water contents. • If you think you’re dehydrated, check your urine; if it’s a darker color, that can suggest dehydration. Urine should be a pale, yellow color. As you can see, staying hydrated in the winter is just as important as staying hydrated in the summer, if not more. In the winter you don’t realize you are thirsty therefore you tend not to drink as much water as you should. This has the potential of wreaking havoc on your body. Please make sure you drink plenty of water in the wintertime as you do in the summertime. We have rebranded our company, we are now Assisted Senior Services! Call us for ANYTHING SENIOR!! 386-847-2322!
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