Dehydration

What is dehydration?

Dehydration means your child's body doesn’t have enough fluid in it to function properly.

There's more water in the human body than anything else, so dehydration has multiple effects on your child's body and can even be life-threatening if it's severe enough. As well as the loss of fluid, dehydration reduces the levels of essential minerals like sodium and potassium.

The body needs these minerals to produce electrolytes, which play a vital role in many processes, including nerve and muscle function and hydration.

Dehydration can affect people of all ages, but infants and children who can't tell you how they feel are particularly vulnerable. Therefore, it's vital to make sure your child takes in plenty of fluids and be aware of the signs that they're dehydrated.

Why would my child have dehydration?

Dehydration can occur for many reasons. Sometimes it's simply due to the child not taking in enough fluids, which could happen when they're so busy playing that they forget to drink. Excessive or prolonged diarrhea and vomiting are common causes of dehydration in children because they lose more fluids than they can take in.

Illnesses that cause a loss of appetite or increased urination can also lead to dehydration. Type 1 diabetes is one example of a condition that typically develops in children and adolescents and makes them urinate more frequently.

What symptoms does dehydration cause in children?

In infants and young children, dry diapers are the primary symptom of dehydration. Other symptoms that can affect children of any age include:

• Producing fewer tears when crying
• Extreme tiredness
• Headache
• Sunken eyes
• Dry mouth and tongue
• Abdominal pain

You need to be able to recognize these signs as signs of potential dehydration, as even if your child can tell you they don't feel well, they may have trouble describing what's wrong.

What treatment do children need for dehydration?

The Cali Kids Urgent Care specialists have considerable experience in diagnosing and treating children with dehydration. They can usually tell from a physical exam that your child is dehydrated, but they might do blood and urine tests to find the cause.

Treatment involves rehydrating your child's body without delay. If they have a mild case of dehydration, they might just need to drink water containing a special solution like Pedialyte® to replace lost electrolytes.

More serious dehydration might require intravenous fluid replacement, where your provider delivers fluids and electrolytes directly into your child's bloodstream.  

If you think your child may be dehydrated, call Cali Kids Urgent Care for prompt attention. You can also book a regular appointment online.