Understanding and Preventing Dehydration in Children

1594 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dehydration pediatrics

Primary Prevention Part C: Dehydration Christine Gustafson NUR 4270: Leadership Seminar Dehydration is a condition where an individual uses or loses more fluids than taken in and the body does not have enough fluids to carry out normal functions. Some distinct features of dehydration include dry mucous membranes, decreased urine output, extreme thirst, and dark colored urine. Though anyone can be affected by dehydration, it is most commonly seen in infants and children. These two age groups have a higher prevalence of dehydration compared to other age groups. This is because total body water is found to be the highest in infants and children ranging from 73% to 85%, compared with 58% in adults (Hockenberry & Wilson, 2013). The high percentage of total body fluid predisposes infants and children to a rapid loss of fluids and consequently, causing dehydration. Additionally, those with weaker immune systems and chronic illnesses, such as the very young and very old, are more likely to develop dehydration and suffer from serious complications. More than two million infants and children are affected by dehydration in the United States, while approximately thirty …show more content…

Dehydration is a serious condition that can lead to additional problems, and even death. The best way to prevent dehydration from occurring is to ensure that everyone is consuming sufficient amounts of fluids. It is essential that parents receive proper education on the importance of following the preventative measures of dehydration. Health care professionals have to take several barriers into consideration when delivering education to patients and families, and work through the barriers to ensure appropriate care. Through proper education and adherence to the preventative measures, dehydration can be greatly decreased in infants and

Show More
Related

  • Efficacy of Gatorade vs Water in Rehydration

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Vital to maintenance of homeostasis is the regulation of plasma osmolality. The Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system, which works to regulate blood pressure, plays a crucial role in fluid balance. When dehydration occurs, blood osmolality increases, which stimulates the release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), ultimately leading to increased water reabsorption. This leads to more concentrated urine, and less concentrated plasma. Low plasma osmolality works in the opposite fashion: ADH release is inhibited, water reabsorption decreases, and urine is less concentrated. The added electrolytes and carbohydrates in Gatorade would facilitate greater fluid retention through stimulation of renin and vasopressin, increasing urinary sodium reabsorption (3). Studies of both urine volume and plasma volume changes are eff...

    Read More

  • Strange But True Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill Summary

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hydrating is very important to your body's ability to function. Your body must intake water as we constantly let off water as said i pg 1 of ‘Strange but True: Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill’ it states “At every moment water escapes the body through sweat, urination, defecation or exhaled breath, among other routes.” As it's been told that water is good for you and needed no one has ever thought of actually being able to overdue it. When you take in water your kidney stores up to a gallon of water so as to keep you hydrated. In the article mentioned previously it also states in pg 10, “every hour a healthy kidney at rest can excrete 800 to 1,000 milliliters … therefore a person can drink up to 800 to 1,000 milliliters per hour without experiencing a net gain in water”. Therefore your body is built

    Read More

  • Dehydration Lab Report

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dehydration is defined as a process of removing water from a substance. The loss of water from a molecule is called dehydration which is exactly opposite with the process of hydrolysis. Dehydration is an elimination reaction of an alcohol involves the loss of an OH from one carbon and an H from an adjacent carbon. Overall, this amounts to the elimination of a molecule of water, resulting in a pi-bond formation of an alkene or alkyne. In most of the dehydration of alcohol, heat and catalyze are needed in the reaction. Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) are the most commonly used acid catalysts.

    Read More

  • Determinants Of Health Essay

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Nepal’s example on the web, the child sickness was due to lack of education on food hygiene and lack of infrastructure (sanitation and drinking water). Thus, teaching the mother about treating water before drinking and the importance of hygiene in handling aliments would prevent the child diarrhea episode and even save the other son that died in the past from this disease.

    Read More

  • Elderly Dehydration

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    Most people don’t think about dehydration; let alone elderly dehydration. It is a common problem, in the aging, and often recognition along with treatment may be delayed; contributing to a high mortality rate. (Lavizzo-Mourey, 1987) By recognizing a potential problem early, you may save an older adult from a debilitating complication. (Hamilton, 2001) The prevention of elderly dehydration will deter illness and increases life expectancy, along with decreasing unnecessary hospitalization and cost.

    Read More

  • Rights to Water

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is because only a small part of the population, particularly in developing countries, have access to water of acceptable quality. It is estimated that in some countries only 20% of the rural population has water of satisfactory quality. Based on these statistics, it is clear the urgent need for awareness about caring for water use. Almost without realizing it, we are seriously jeopardizing this essential resource, not for us but for our children's children and their generations, aware that in other parts o...

    Read More

  • Rennal Diet: The Role Of A Renal Diet

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the kidneys regulate the quantity of fluid which leaves the body, patients who suffer from kidney disease progression, may be not be able to regularize fluid removal from their body. Due to this scenario, their physician or specialist may ask them to reduce their intake of fluid. Lowering daily fluid intake for the renal diet involves: not drinking to socialize or from habit, only having a drink when thirsty, and sucking on a wedge of lemon or chips of ice. It also entails taking measures for monitoring the quantity of fluid that is drunk. This is done by measuring a regularly used glass or cup to measure the quantity of fluid it holds, as well as placing the recommended daily quantity of water into a specific container, and then only taking the fluid that is consumed from this. This insures that the recommended amount is not exceeded (Medical

    Read More

  • Sustainable Nursing Profession

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    I no longer strictly focus on meeting the physical needs of the patients I care for, but rather, I now take a more comprehensive approach to patient care. For example, a standard moral purpose for the nursing profession stands as providing the community with reliable information and resources to make educated decision to promote health and minimize illness. This past week, I spent my clinical immersion providing education to parents, in relation to the care of their newborns. To promote health and minimize illness, I educated parents on SIDS prevention, feeding cues, breastfeeding, jaundice, immunizations, blood glucose levels, developmental needs, and appropriate counts of intake and output (Dirty and wet diapers). The realization that I go into patient care situations with a more comprehensive approach stands important as patients are not straight forward; each patient entails varying levels of physical, emotional, and social needs that must be met while in the health care system.

    Read More

  • Gatorade Persuasive Essay

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    When more water leaves the body then comes in, dehydration is occurring ("Safe Drinking Water: Tap Water, Bottled Water, & Water Filters.”). Without the water you need you can’t regulate your body temperature and your body can’t lubricate you joints ("Athletes: The Importance of Good Hydration.”). Being a dehydrated athlete won’t let you preform at your highest level ("Athletes: The Importance of Good Hydration.”). Because being hydrated helps transport nutrients to give you energy and keep your body healthy ("Athletes: The Importance of Good Hydration.”). It may cause you to experience fatigue, muscle cramps, and dizziness ("Athletes: The Importance of Good

    Read More

  • Water, Hydration and Health

    3325 Words  | 7 Pages

    Hydration with water and other water-based liquids is critical for survival and functioning of the body’s organs. Water is 60% of the total human body composition. Water is involved in the function of temperature regulation, elimination of waste and secretion, digestion, and is 80% of blood composition. Deborah Boardly, assistant professor of health promotion and human performance at the University of Ohio in Toledo says, "I truly believe that dehydration (insufficient body fluids) may be the number one nutrition problem for athletes—and, possibly, people in general." Boardly goes on to say, "Today we have all these concerns about everything we should and shouldn’t eat—and yet here is this absolutely fundamental substance and it is grossly overlooked."(http://www.tdo.com/features/health/stories/0803/)

    Read More

  • Summary and Reflection on the Article Hyponatremia Caused by Polydipsia

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s a full understanding of all interventions and the rationale behind them. With the help of the collaborative healthcare team, the fully knowledgeable nurse can assist in returning to the patient to a completely normal functioning state and fluid status. Education is key at this point, the nurse must be able to educate the patient and provide the tools needed to hopefully prevent another occurrence. The role of the nurse can be very influential in the full recovery of the patient with hyponatremia if they have the knowledge and the tools that are needed to facilitate it.

    Read More

  • Maternal, Infant, and Child Health: A Community's Vital Signs

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    A child’s education during the ages of one to nine is very important to the child’s development and the future (McKenzie & Pinger, 2015, p.217). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinating children against most vaccine-preventable diseases early in life. One of the community programs for Women, Infants and Children is the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, which is in charge with the responsibility for promoting and improving the health of our nations mothers and children. Another is the woman, infants and children program, which is a clinic-based program designed to provide a variety of nutritional health related goods and services to pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants up to one year and children under the age of five.

    Read More

  • Food poisoning

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    The diagnose are carried out based on history which may include the duration of sickness, the characteristics of the sickness and the specific types of food that have been eaten. Some physical exam can also be performed to look for signs and symptoms of dehydrat...

    Read More

  • Water Essay: The Future Of Water And Drinking Water

    545 Words  | 2 Pages

    By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1 percent of its total water amount.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Water in the Human Body

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    Water is an essential nutrient that our body requires every day. Without water human life cannot be sustained. Water deprivation kills faster than lack of any other nutrient. People do not think of water as a nutrient and don’t realize the important role of water in the body functions.

    Read More

More about Understanding and Preventing Dehydration in Children

Open Document