Avoiding Dehydration for Seniors
Family Care articles are not a substitute for medical or legal advice from a licensed professional.
Why Are Seniors at Risk?
Dehydration can cause severe health problems for anyone, young or old. Depending on the severity, dehydration can lead to higher risks of infections like UTIs, dizziness, confusion, seizures, and even death. For some people, losing as little as 2-3% of our body’s fluid can cause physical and cognitive impairment.
The problem impacts seniors at higher rates than the rest of the population. Up to 40% of elderly people in senior living communities may be chronically underhydrated. For many seniors, this creates an avoidable healthcare expense—the average patient admitted to the hospital for dehydration is 80.4 years old. A dehydrated patient stays in the hospital for an average of four and a half days, with an average medical cost of $7,442.
There are many factors that put the aging population at a higher risk for dehydration. With age, it can become difficult to tell when you’re thirsty. Your body experiences changes in the function of the kidneys, which process urine. Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia also play a role in senior dehydration. Remembering when you last had a glass of water is an important part of maintaining a healthy balance in your body. A study by researchers at Georgia Tech and Eastern Carolina University identified a relationship between patient dehydration and decreased cognitive function—a relationship even stronger than that between dehydration and old age.
We have several tips to help you keep your loved ones healthy and well-hydrated:
Keep Them (and Yourself) Informed
NCBI recently completed an eye-opening survey of elderly Americans, which exposed gaps in seniors’ knowledge of dehydration causes and symptoms. If your loved one is able to take instructions, you might consider having a conversation with them about the basic facts.
Dehydration happens when the body loses fluid. This is caused by a number of conditions, including:
Illness (like fever). If your loved one is feeling under the weather, keep them healthy by hydrating more than usual.
High temperatures or over-exertion. Especially in the summer, it’s important to keep cool. Checking to make sure the air conditioning is on, taking care of the chores, or hiring someone to do the yardwork, are good ways to make sure seniors aren’t sweating out all of their moisture. Experts recommend wearing light, loose-fitting clothing, and drinking before becoming thirsty, not after.
Diuretic medications. It’s important to make sure your loved ones are up-to-date on their medications, understand the side effects, and are taking the correct dosage. If they have difficulty keeping track for themselves, getting permission to speak to the senior’s doctor on their behalf is a great way to know you’ve got the best information possible.
Know the Symptoms of Dehydration
Especially with seniors suffering from dementia, information about dehydration might not stick. In that case, it could be necessary for others to monitor their fluid intake. When checking in on a parent or other elderly family member, watch out for these signs:
Dry mouth
Chapped or red lips
Fatigue
Infrequent or decreased urination
Headache
Dry skin
Dizziness
Confusion
As people move into more severe stages of dehydration, symptoms can include:
Low blood pressure
High heart rate
Sunken eyes
Fever
Laziness
Seizures
Watch out for Overhydration
Just as underhydration can pose substantial risks, overhydration can cause a lot of problems for seniors’ health. Overhydration can be caused by heart or kidney failure, protein deficiency, blood transfusions, or IV treatments. If your loved one has had any of these medical conditions or treatments, it is important to watch their fluid intake and ensure they aren’t drinking too much. Increased confusion, high blood pressure, seizures, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary edema are all potential symptoms of mild to severe overhydration. Like dehydration, overhydration can be fatal.
Overall, seniors are less aware of the dangers of overhydration than underhydration. Less than one-third of respondents to the same NCBI study associated overhydration with steroids, transfusions, protein deficiency, liver failure, or IV treatments.
Figure out the “Why”
A senior might have reasons for neglecting their fluid intake—asking why they aren’t drinking enough can expose the challenges they’re facing and allow you to make suggestions.
Fear of nighttime incontinence was a major factor preventing seniors from staying hydrated, especially in the evening. If that’s the case, it may be time to ask a doctor about treatments or medications that could help your family member sleep through the night.
If they don’t feel thirsty, or don’t like the taste of water, there are plenty of other options to keep them hydrated. Watermelon, strawberries, oranges, and certain fruit juices have very high water content. If they don’t like sweet foods, you can always go the savory route—zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, broccoli, broths, and soups are also excellent hydration options.
And if it’s a problem of remembering to drink enough water, there are plenty of products (shown below) that can help seniors remember to keep drinking, or make staying hydrated seem like less of a chore.
Products to Help
Before introducing any of these products to a senior’s routine, it’s always a good idea to talk to their doctor about the best options for them. Some medications may require seniors to drink more or less water than what’s usually recommended. These products are just some of the options available to encourage seniors to stay hydrated.
Jelly Drops are a product that’s been on the radar of dementia caregivers for a long time. The colorful, flavored pods make it easy for seniors to stay hydrated. Many dementia patients respond well to color and flavor, so it’s easier to keep them hydrated with colorful, flavorful options.
As of December 2019, Jelly Drops have entered their final product testing stages and should be available for purchase soon. Click here to watch a video of the developer’s grandmother eating the drops.
Ulla is a sensor that attaches to your water bottle and lights up to remind you to take a sip. Ulla uses optimal hydration intervals to time its notifications, which makes sure a user is drinking regularly. As a bonus, it’s adaptable to any bottle’s shape, size, or material, so if your loved one already has a water bottle they like, there’s no transition necessary.
Drip Drop is a powdered drink mix originally developed to help dehydrated people in Latin America. Today, it’s available for purchase by anyone, and features a taste “even kids will enjoy.” Besides being a tasty incentive to drink water, the powder includes a mix of electrolytes, vitamins, and glucose.
Pedialyte is usually for young children, but contains plenty of electrolytes to help anyone become hydrated quickly. It comes in bottles, powders, and even popsicles, which could entice even the pickiest senior to give it a try.