HOUSTON – A Houston summer is the recipe for quick dehydration. Humidity plus hot temperatures make it easier to reach dehydration faster.
Health experts say there are some lesser-known telltale signs you’re dehydrated.
Heart rate
Use your fitness tracker to know your heart rate at any moment throughout the day.
A normal range is 70-80, according to Kelsey-Seybold's Dr. John Griffin, but if it’s higher and you’re not exercising, it could be an indicator you’re dehydrated.
“One of your body's responses to not having enough blood or blood volume, which is dehydration, is to pump faster and circulate the blood,” Griffin said. “Above 100 is abnormal.”
Skin test
In hospitals, doctors often lightly pinch the skin on your hand to test hydration.
“If you pinch the skin on the top of your hand, if it stays up instead of springs back, then it's an indication that you're dehydrated. So if you let go and it goes right back to normal, that's a normal state of hydration,” Griffin said.
He said to get somewhere cool and drink water if your skin is slow to bounce back.
Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of fluid
Dietitian Catherine Kruppa said to calculate half your body weight and drink that many ounces of hydrating fluid every day.
She said hydrating fluid can include juice, tea, even soup at lunch, but does not include caffeinated drinks.
Remember your body can only process liquids gradually, it will not absorb if you drink too much too quickly.
How to treat
If it’s an emergency, you feel lightheaded, confused, faint, fatigue and can’t cool down.
An urgent clinic may be necessary to get fluids fast through an IV.
