Dehydration
Picture the scene!
Its a warm Saturday afternoon and you've been chasing a football around the pitch for what seems like a lifetime. You're tired, thirsty and sweaty. As the game wraps up, you just have enough time to jump in the shower, change your shirt, and slather on a fresh layer of deodorant before heading to meet your friends for a night out on the town. You drink the lager until the early hours before, jumping in a taxi to go home. You get in, and go straight to bed, falling asleep before your head has even hit the pillow!
At 0700 hours your alarm goes off and you've got to haul yourself out of bed, get a shower and into work for the start of your shift at 0900 hours. You've done your daily checks and your now sitting in the mess with a nice big cup of black coffee. Before you know it, the bells are going down and your off to your first job of the day, a nice little grass fire. You've been at the job for 30 minutes or so and you've been using beaters for the majority of the time! You are now seriously dehydrated, but that bulky fire kit your wearing is drastically increasing the chance of heat illness and dehydration.
That headache you woke up with is now getting worse. Your mouth is dry and sticky and you are lethargic. You need water, and you need it quickly!
Definition.
Dehydration means your body does not have as much water and fluids as it should. Losing too much fluid, not drinking enough water or fluids, or a combination of both can cause dehydration.Dehydration is classed as mild, moderate and severe based on the percentage of body weight lost. When severe, dehydration is a life-threatening emergency.
Causes, Incidents and Risk Factors.
Your body may lose too many fluids from the following:- Vomiting or Diarrhoea. read more
