as ur friendly Neighborhood Nursing Student™ i feel somewhat compelled to remind everyone with the hot weather:
every liquid except sea water and alcohol hydrates you. It’s not CHUG WATER OR DIE. in fact, gatorade and the like are designedto hydrate you efficiently.
yeah, this includes coffee and tea and soda. the diuretic is notenough to cancel out the liquid. juices and milk have solids in them, sure, but they’re also mostly liquid! it counts.
your body can only absorb so much water at a time, so chugging 64 oz of water at noon and calling it good will do a wonderfuljob of flushing your kidneys, but not so much of hydrating your tissues. it’s more important that you’re getting consistent fluid throughout the day.
there’s a lot of fancy ways to determine How Much Water (Liquid) I Should Drink but honestly? 8 oz (1 cup) every other hour on cool days and 8 oz every hour on hot days should be fine (assuming you sleep for a normal amount of time per day…. i’m assuming ur awake 16 hours a day.)
figure out how many oz each of ur favorite cups is. it’ll help your guesstimation.
if ur urine is darker than light yellow, you’re dehydrated.
if u pinch the skin on the back of ur hand for a couple seconds and it takes more than a second or two go to back to normal then ur dehydrated.
In regards to #1, don’t take this as an excuse to drink the sugar water that they call sports drinks. They aren’t bad for you per se, but please choose water.
actually this entire post was written in the spirit of ppl using it as an excuse to drink sports drinks and soda etc
ppl have been commenting abt sodium levels in soda and sugar levels in sports drinks and thats all well and good but what i’ve noticed is that people who internalize “well, ONLY WATER hydrates me” but who HATE WATER remain horrifically dehydrated cause they dont drink anything.
so like. if ur a person who haaaaates tap water, this is absolutely me giving you permission to drink whatever fluid you can stomach. please take this as a direct excuse to drink nothing but gatorade if that’s what it takes to get enough fluid into ur body.
it’s not the healthiest for you, sure, but you’re a smart enough person to know that. please drink fluids anyways.
if u like water thats gr8. if you can stomach water that’s gr8. if you can’t, that’s okay too, and you need to stay hydrated just as much as anyone else, so pleasedrink.
I used to hate tap water, and in some places (looking at you, Iowa) it is legit disgusting, but one thing I do which helped a ton and was long term cheaper than buying soda or juice was to get a bottle of Angostura bitters. It’s a cocktail additive with a strong distinctive flavor, so although a tiny bottle is like $6 it will last you for ages. Put a small drop or dash in your glass then fill with water. It has a pleasant sort of herbal metal taste (I understand that those words don’t seem like they should go together but it’s hard to describe) which masks tap water. It also helps me smooth an upset tummy but your mileage may vary. It’s not something that will get you drunk, just a flavoring like vanilla extract.
If that all sounds like too much bother, dropping a lemon wedge into water also helps.
I am learning that lemon wedges are magical in almost everything I like to drink.
here is the magic that made me stop being chronically dehydrated:
because yeah, i can’t STAND plain water – it tastes like the inside of my mouth. it tastes like spit. imagine drinking a glass of ice cold spit. ugh. but add a squirt of this stuff to your glass of tapwater, and now it tastes like apple, cherry, lemonade, whatever.
i also got a bunch of these
and pre-prep them with flavored water, iced tea, iced coffee, whatever (or ask my helper to do it), and then when i’m thirsty but distracted and want to just grab some kind of liquid without thinking about finding a clean glass etc., i can just grab one of these.
because yeah, hating water is a thing, and dehydration SUCKS. so drink SOMETHING, don’t be a water purist. better to chug iced coffee than go without.
mio was a damn genius for comin out with that shit
can I just speak up here as someone who has been a nurse for 17 years? I heartily endorse this post and also give you permission to DRINK WHATEVER THE HELL IT TAKES TO KEEP YOU FROM BEING DEHYDRATED
especially in the summer, you can’t play around with that. drink something. seriously. for the love of kittens. DRINK SOMETHING.
I thought of this earlier today, too: If you’re trying to be really conscientious of the sugar levels in many drinks, a simple thing I do is cut my juice or gatorade like 1:1 with water. That way, it has just enough flavor, but it’ll also dilute some of the sugar content. Tbh, I find that some juices and such have too much flavor for my preferences anyway, so this also helps me want to drink more often.
HYDRATION FRIENDS! If you do not care for sports drinks or the like, but still want something that will help replenish depleted electrolytes, can I recommend…
SEKANJABIN?
Sekanjabin is a drink used across Northern Africa and the Middle East today and has its origins in medieval Persia. It is a vinegar-based drink (which sounds weird but I promise you can barely taste it if made properly). Modern sekanjabin is traditionally made with mint, or mint and cucumber. The first written copy of the recipe was simply honey and vinegar (10th century, in Fihrist of al-Nadim).
Here is my actual award-winning Pomegranate Ginger Rose Water sekanjabin:
Ingredients
2 C sugar
1¼ C water
½ C vinegar (white, white wine, or red wine)
1 C pomegranate juice
1 T rose water
3 ginger candies
Instructions
Bring the sugar, water, and vinegar to a boil. Stir for three minutes (sugar should now be fully integrated).
Add ginger candy; stir until melted. Remove from heat.
Add rosewater and pomegranate juice, stir.
Let cool to room temperature, then bottle.
To drink: add 1 part syrup to 5-10 parts water. Can be prepared hot or cold, but I think it tastes best over ice.
Notes
Sekanjabin is shelf-stable and will last a very long time. Feel free to play with the flavors and proportions of the base ingredients – other popular flavors include mint, lavender, and quince. It’s also worth noting that the different vinegars will affect the flavor of the final product.
I use Gin-Gin ginger candies. You could also use ginger syrup (1 teaspoon per candy, or 1 tablespoon/3 candies). You can even use powdered ginger, although the end result will have “floaters” in it as a result.
If you live in a large city, you may be able to find rose water in your local grocery store (in the middle eastern food area). Medium cities: you can find it at your local Middle Eastern grocer. Oftentimes in health food stores. Small towns: you may want to order online.
Rose water is not a common flavor in modern Western cooking. It is VERY easy to over-do the rosewater; if you are concerned about it tasting like soap or perfume, start with a teaspoon and add more.
It’s fun to experiment! Hate ginger? Try adding mint (both have soothing qualities for the stomach). Think pomegranate is boring? Try quince. Know you can’t stand roses? Go for lavender! You could make a bunch of sample bottles to see what works for you.
Storage: I put mine in (thoroughly cleaned-out) glass booze bottles. I also currently have two gallons in an old water container. A little bit goes a long way.
Awesome things about sekanjabin: it’s an AMAZING recovery drink. I had folks drinking mine when they were sick and thanking me afterward because it was the only thing they could keep down and likely kept them from dehydrating to the point of hospitalizaiton. I also had folks drinking it as a hangover cure – a higher syrup:water ratio than I’d usually recommend, but it worked for them.
Hydrate in whatever way works for you! But if you want those electrolytes, make you some sekanjabin.
psa to everyone on antipsychotics during the summertime
some antipsychotics can make you more susceptible to heat exhaustion because they make it so your body cannot regulate your body temperature correctly. I learned this the hard way last summer, I got really nasty heat exhaustion while on a high dose of quetiapine. so check if your meds react badly to heat, and if they do, please be sure to wear your sunscreen, have light cover ups on or with you, wear a hat, and stay hydrated! be safe
especiallyduloxetineandclozapine,know the signs of dehydration,take cooling breaks if you have to be in the sun
duloxetine is commonly branded in the USA as Cymbalta.
Note: many anti-bipolar meds are also antipsychotics. I found a list of psychotropic meds that can increase risk of heat exhaustion here:
Can personally confirm that Latuda/Lurasidone can also mess with your heat response and lead to heat exhaustion if you aren’t careful, like I wasn’t.
[ID: Screenshot of a page with two columns listing trade names beside generic names of medications; the columns have been compiled into a list for ease of comprehension/reading.
Common psychotropic medications that may impair the heat response:
ramadan is coming up so fasting muslims on medication please remember to be very careful and hydrate more than you normally would at suhoor and iftar!!!
Can confirm that Seroquel also exacerbates my preexisting photophobia as well as temperature regulation!
Trazidone and Prozac are also often prescribed to pets with anxiety issues.
Also, I had no idea that literally every anti-depressant I’ve been on can cause this issue. My inability to handle being in the sun much over the last few years suddenly has a very possible root cause.
I trick my dehydrated body into drinking water by putting ice in it because then it feels like I’m drinking Crispy Water™ and that’s just so much better than regular water
In all my time reading whump and hurt/comfort fanfiction, as well as published fiction, I’ve seen dehydration thrown around a few times, but never really used to its fullest extent. When done properly, dehydration is a great addition to a lot of pieces. So, here’s some first-hand knowledge about dehydration and how it happens/what it feels like.
1.) Dehydration happens a LOT. I’m serious. I don’t mean anything serious or life threatening, but, if there’s physical activity being done, dehydration will probably follow. If you don’t hydrate adequately before, during, and afterany kind of physical exertion, you’ll probably start to feel it.
2.) Minor dehydration is a bitch. I’m talking headaches, bad tastes in the mouth, dry mouth, achy muscles, confusion, fatigue, the works. It basically feels like getting run over by a truck. If the person isn’t used to getting dehydrated, they probably won’t be able to pin it down to dehydration. If they’re more experienced, the cluster of symptoms is very easy to recognize. It can also be hard to force yourself to drink water even if you know you’re dehydrated, because your throat may feel weird or sore.
3.) It won’t happen immediately. A big thing lots of athletes deal with is waking up dehydrated. I know when I have a late practice, my focus is on going straight to bed. If I do that, even if I’ve been hydrating the whole day, I’m probably going to wake up feeling like shit and end up chugging water the whole day.
So basically, if you’ve put your characters through hell but you’re looking for a bit of a cherry on top, try minor dehydration. It’s realistic, it’s awful, and it makes everything ten times worse (or better, in the reader’s case).
“I need some help!” a young woman screams into the ED waiting room.
Anna rushes a wheelchair over to the frantic young woman, who is supporting a similarly-aged man. “What’s wrong?” she asks.
“He hadn’t had any water in a couple of hours and he collapsed from dehydration during study group. I got him some water to drink, but Bram decided to challenge him to a chugging contest, and now he’s been coughing and spitting up water for 15 minutes.”
“Okay. Let’s get him in the wheelchair. What’s his name?”
“M-ma-max. It’s Max. I’m, um, Malin. We’re twins, but I’m a whole hour older.”
“Okay,” Anna says, helping Max into the wheelchair. “Come with me.” She pushes Max through the entry to the ED and helps Max onto a bed. “Dr. Byrne!” Anna calls out. “I’ve got a college-age male with a possible laryngospasm or pulmonary edema!”
“Get him on Oxygen and keep him calm. I’m on my way and paging respiratory.”
“What does that mean?” Malin asks tentatively.
“He might be reacting to water in his lungs. You may have heard it be called delayed drowning.”
Prompt:Just Keep Swimming (adrift, drowning, dehydration) Fandom:Naruto Characters:Tenzo and Sakura Words:628 Rating:T Notes:Ambiguous ending, you’ve been warned
Sunlight pierced through the thin canopy of leaves overhead, blinding Tenzo where he lay. He curled onto his other side, swatting blindly at the rays. Part of him knew that he needed to move, to crawl deeper into the shade before his skin blistered from the heat, but the effort seemed too great. Tenzo tried to count how many days had passed since the world ended, but he couldn’t make his mind calculate the numbers.
The gentle lapping of waves against the shore had sounded peaceful when they’d started this forsaken mission. His entire team had laughed, comparing a mission in the Land of Waves as a vacation rather than work. Now, Tenzo would give anything to hear the soft twitter of birds arguing amongst whispering tree limbs. He ran his tongue over sandpaper dry lips, trying to impart moisture, but his body had none left to give.
The island that Tenzo had ended up on was small enough for him to walk completely around in two hours without using chakra. If there was any sign of fresh water, he hadn’t been able to find it. Pushing into a sitting position, he used one hand to scan the horizon and empty sea around him. White caps danced in brilliant water, but there was nothing else within sight. If he’d had the energy, he would have laughed. The ability to walk on water didn’t do him much good if he didn’t know which way to go.
Tenzo tried to swallow, but his throat felt swollen. He wondered if the rest of his team had made it back to shore. They might be looking for him, but the chance grew thinner with every passing hour. Rubbing at his temples to try and lessen the headache, Tenzo looked around. He should get up and go look for water again, but he was exhausted. He curled into a fetal position on the poorly shaded sand and closed his eyes.
“Tenzo?” The soft sound of Sakura’s voice drew Tenzo from his fitful rest. He tried to smile, especially when she turned a strand of dark hair behind one ear. Dying her hair black had been her way of disguising herself for the mission. Tenzo still wasn’t sure it had worked. He would have known her in any lifetime.
“You came,” Tenzo managed, voice cracked and papery. He tried to wet his lips again, but he couldn’t manage it.
Sakura knelt on the sand, and raised one hand to smooth over Tenzo’s brow. He leaned into the touch as her lips brushed his forehead. “I will always come for you.”
Tenzo managed a weak hum of agreement; that felt easier than talking. The pain in his head returned, pounding with the thrumming of his heart beat. He needed something, but he couldn’t remember what it was. His vision blurred, then steadied. Sakura wiped something cool across his face. “Just rest,” Sakura murmured. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Closing his eyes, Tenzo nestled back into the intent that his body had made in the sand. The pain grew less as he drew a shallow breath. He opened his eyes, searching for Sakura, but the sun was too bright. Tenzo needed to tell her… something. He didn’t know what it was, but it was important. She needed to know.
Tenzo groaned Sakura’s name, fighting the pull of sleep. Her voice sounded like the wind when she shushed him, the words too soft to pick up. Sakura lifted Tenzo’s head to her lap and brushed through his hair. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re okay.”
Hours later, when the sun sank toward the horizon, it painted the beach in shades of pink and purple. A solitary figure lay unmoving beneath the trees, head pillowed on the sand.
A dehydrated whumpee being given one ice cube. They have to wait for it to slowly melt, taunting them, while precious water getting all over their hands.
This is the fill for the prompt that @pythagoreanwhump sent me, which consisted of just one word: dehydration. It’s a continuation of this and continues the Sam and Julius saga. To get the full effect, I recommend listening to disco music while reading this, because it’s a general Sam mood ;) Enjoy!
At first it had been a relief to be left alone, but Sam was beginning to find the situation rather boring. After giving them an incredibly unpleasant bath, their captor, who they had since learned was called Julius, had simply left them in their cell and not returned. Sam had been glad to have been given a break, but shivering in the cold of the basement, wearing nothing but their damp underwear, they had begun to wonder if this was really an improvement.
CW: Dehydration, refusal of care, questionable Caretaker, kicking, bruises, restraints
“Whumpee? I brought you something to drink.”
“Go to hell.” Whumpee spat, kicking at Caretaker before they even got close.
“Whumpee, let me help you. You need to drink something. You’re dehydrated.”
“I’d rather die. Go fuck yourself.”
Careful to stay out of Whumpee’s reach, Caretaker set the cup on the nightstand. “Aren’t you thirsty?”
Whumpee didn’t answer.
With a sigh, Caretaker braced themself and sat on the edge of the bed again. As they had expected, Whumpee continued kicking them.
Caretaker simply sat quietly, enduring. Again, Whumpee kept at it for about two hours before they finally stopped. Caretaker was sore.
“Whumpee, may I please change your bandages?”
“Go away!”
“Will you at least take a drink before I leave?”
“No!” Whumpee kicked Caretaker one more time.
Caretaker gave a curt nod. “Fine. But I’ll be back later to try again until your answer is yes to one of those requests.” And Caretaker left again.
—
“Whumpee?” Caretaker returned an hour later. “May I change your bandages?”
“Damn you, no!”
“Will you take a drink?”
“I said, no!”
Caretaker sat on the bed once more, biting the inside of their cheek as Whumpee kicked at their already bruised body. “I want to help you— I’m going to help you. I don’t care how many times you kick me, I’m not giving up on you.”
“Why won’t you just leave?? I don’t want your help! I don’t trust you!” Whumpee kicked Caretaker in the head.
Caretaker saw stars. “I know you don’t trust me, but I can’t just let you go. You’re going to get an infection!”
“I don’t care— just stay away from me.”
Caretaker closed their eyes and sat in silence until Whumpee stopped kicking them. Maybe it was all in their head, but they felt like it was a shorter period this time. They allowed the silence to hang in the air for a long moment before speaking.
“May I change your bandages?”
“No.”
“Will you take a drink?”
“You’rereallynot going to leave me alone until I say yes to something, are you?”
“Nope.”
Whumpee was silent.
Well, it wasn’t a no.
When Caretaker held the cup to Whumpee’s lips, they drank, glaring at Caretaker the whole time. Despite Whumpee’s glare, they drank the whole glass of water.
“Thank you.” Caretaker said softly before leaving the room.
Via: www.drcalapai.net Fourth of July weekend in front of us means it’s officially high summer and most people are gearing up for their vacations. For many, that will include air travel, and possibly a long haul flight. You know the drill: they give you some peanuts, the drink cart makes a couple of rounds, they bring you your sad little tray of airplane food and then before you know it, it’s…
