Dehydration in Adults

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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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• Dehydration in Adults Overview
• Dehydration Pictures
• Causes of Dehydration in Adults
• Symptoms of Dehydration in Adults
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Dehydration in Adults Diagnosis
• Dehydration in Adults Treatment
• Dehydration in Adults Self-Care at Home
• Dehydration in Adults Medical Treatment
• Dehydration in Adults Medications
• Dehydration in Adults Follow-up
• Dehydration in Adults Prevention
• Dehydration in Adults Prognosis
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Author and Editor
• Read more on Dehydration in Adults from Healthwise
• Drinks and Beverages FAQs
• Viewer Comments: Dehydration (Adults) - Symptoms
• Viewer Comments: Dehydration (Adults) - Causes and Treatment

Dehydration is a condition that can occur when the loss of body fluids, mostly water, exceeds the amount that is taken in. With dehydration, more water is moving out of individual cells and then out of the body than the amount of water that is taken in through drinking. Medically, dehydration usually means a person has lost enough fluid so that the body begins to lose its ability to function normally, and begins to produce symptoms related to the fluid loss.

People (and animals) lose water every day in the form of water vapor in the breath we exhale, and as water in our sweat, urine, and stool. Along with the water, small amounts of salts or electrolytes are also lost. Our bodies are constantly readjusting the balance between water (and salts or electrolytes) losses with fluid intake. When we lose too much water, our bodies may become out of balance or dehydrated. Most doctors divide dehydration into three stages: 1) mild, 2) moderate and 3) severe. Mild and often even moderate dehydration can be reversed or put back in balance by oral intake of fluids that contain electrolytes (or salts) that are lost during activity. If unrecognized and untreated, some instances of moderate and severe dehydration can lead to death. This article is designed to discuss dehydration in adults.

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