ver the past several months I have continued to hear of, or be personally impacted by those who get dehydrated very easily. I am speaking primarily of elderly persons - but not exclusively... more on that in a moment.
I have to admit, it has had me in a bit of quandary wondering why this condition is so common in the elderly. My 93-year-old father recently fell and it was the result of dehydration. He was mentally confused and somehow became disoriented and fell. Thankfully, he was not badly hurt and no bones were broken - however, that is often not the case with others.
Last week I was musing with a friend of mine who is a massage therapist and Naturopath on this subject. She immediately had an answer for me... and an answer that made perfect sense.
If you have read many of my articles you know that I am a huge proponent for treating our largest organ, skin, with the utmost respect in regards to what we put on it. What I didn't realize was that this organ is also largely responsible for keeping us hydrated. When our skin is young and plump, it holds moisture very well. However, as we age, and our skin gets thinner, it is unable to hold adequate moisture to keep us properly hydrated for very long. Take my father as an example. He had come down with a head cold and therefore was in bed more and drinking less. His thin skin could not maintain the level of hydration necessary to keep his mind clear for as long as mine would have been able to... and mine would not be able to for as long as a twenty something's could. Are you getting the picture?
When we talk about staying hydrated it means different things to people of different ages. The sad/hard part is that older people don't want to drink as much because it is more difficult for them to maneuver trips to the bathroom - yet, these are the very ones who need to make certain they are getting the water they need.
I am not advocating water-logging the elderly, but I am saying that it is extremely important to drink as much water when you are elderly as you did when you were younger. Every chart of how much water is enough water I looked at, prior to writing this article, did not take age into consideration. One did say that an elderly person should drink as much water as a middle-aged adult. But remember, those charts generally base our water consumption needs on body weight and level of activity. The natural thought would be that if I am less active as I get older I need less water. That simply is not true. You and I, and every adult person whether middle-aged or elderly should be adjusting the amount of water we drink not based only on activity level - but also on our age. I am not a doctor and so I won't be dogmatic about this, but it only makes sense that as we age and our skin becomes thinner we should at least maintain the same amount of water we have always drank. The easy equation to follow for daily water requirements is "weight divided by two, divided by eight = number of cups of water needed". For me that equates to just over 8 cups per day. And, on the days I am very active I need a bit more than that or my body tells me about it.
Signs of dehydration are: extreme thirst
irritability or confusion
muscle cramps
sweet cravings
lack of urination and/or dark urine
Try this skin test from http://www.everydayhealth.com
First, use two fingers to grab a roll of skin on the back of your hand (between where your watch sits and where your fingers start). Pull the skin up about ½ to one centimeter high and then let the skin go. The skin should spring back to its normal position in less than a couple of seconds. If the skin bounces back slowly, you might be dehydrated.
Keeping skin as plump as possible for as long as possible is also ideal then, as you can see. Thinning skin is a natural part of aging but there are some things you can do to help slow the progression. Drinking products like Neocell's Beauty Infusion collagen drink mix may help maintain the elasticity of your skin. Stimulation of the skin also keeps the blood flowing and may be of help. You can stimulate the skin with dry skin brushing; a technique that has been used for a variety of health issues for many years. Check out this link for information on the benefits and how to do it: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/24/dry-skin-brushing.aspx
I know someone reading this is saying, but I don't like water. Let me close by sharing some "water-enhancing" tips I give my cancer clients who often find water distasteful because of chemo drugs. Try adding one, or more, of the following to and 8 ounce glass of water.
1. 1 ounce unsweetened cranberry juice
It tastes great and is excellent for your bladder and kidneys
2. 2-3 drops of orange, grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, and/or lime essential oils to 8 ounces of water
ONLY use food grade oils: Young Living, Doterra, or Rocky Mountain Oils
3. Make a pitcher of water to pour from all day and add fresh strawberries, cucumbers, lemon or lime slices to the water... let "steep" for at least one hour.
I just love cucumber water and find it extremely refreshing
A couple of final thoughts:
If you are a coffee drinker you need more water than non-coffee drinkers
... and, enjoy sugary soft drinks on rare occasions only.
There are enough things that we have no control over in life - but you can make a choice today to keep hydrated as well as possible.
Carin Hansen was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40. After a
long battle she emerged victorious and began a one-on-one wardrobe and
beauty consulting business for other women journeying through cancer.
She has been a model, actress, talent agency owner, benefit founder,
certified acting/modeling instructor, writer, speaker and passionate
cancer advocate. Please visit Carin's website at http://www.bridges2beauty.net
for information and encouragement that is helpful and hopeFULL. You can
purchase a hard copy of her book "A Woman's Cancer Journey Primer" or
upload a free PDF on the website also. It is important to remember that
Carin is not a physician and does not subscribe to or recommend any
particular medical procedure or alternative treatment. She strongly
urges you to consult with your Primary Physician, Oncologist and/or
Surgeon before implementing any of her suggestions found in her
articles, newsletter, blogs and books.
