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CLEVELAND - The temperatures are heating up and that means staying hydrated is crucial, especially if you’re playing a sport or exercising outside.
“We can lose a large amount of fluid in our body, pounds of fluid just exercising for an hour in the heat and we have to replace that, and that’s paramount,” explained Collin Kitchell, MD, family medicine physician for Cleveland Clinic Florida. “Now, we don’t always just want to replace it with free water, but we want some electrolyte supplementation in there as well.”
Dr. Kitchell said signs of dehydration include feeling thirsty, having dark-colored urine, increased heart rate, muscle cramps, headache and fatigue.
Dehydration can also lead to heat exhaustion and the risk for heat stroke, which is when your body can’t regulate its temperature.
Heat stroke can be deadly and needs to be treated immediately.
So, what’s the best way to avoid dehydration?
Dr. Kitchell said if you’re an athlete, it’s not enough to just drink water right before your game.
You should prepare much sooner than that.
“I always tell my athletes that are preparing to start three days before the event. And to get your body fully hydrated and to get the cells full of water,” he said. “But, leading up to the event, two hours before is a good time to really start hydrating and helping with fluids, as well as throughout.”
He notes if you are planning to buy any sports drinks with electrolytes, be sure to keep an eye on the sugar content.
You don’t want it to have too much.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 81,000 employees worldwide are more than 5,743 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,160 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,690-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 276 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2023, there were 13.7 million outpatient encounters, 323,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 301,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 132 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
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