Ensuring Enough Fluid Intake
Regular fluid intake, whether water or juices, is really important especially this summer season. Fluids are one’s best protection against dehydration and heat stroke since these normalize body temperature. Fluids carry heat away from internal organs and
Dear Dr. Jen,
I got jellyfish stings on my arms and legs. My bites got so red and swollen, as opposed to my friend’s sting which were just tiny dots. Are the sizes of the bites dependent on the specie of jellyfish? What is the best first aid treatment for them? What over-the- counter meds can I bring with me next time I go snorkeling?
Janie
According to the medical website Medical News Today, there's no exact number of how much fluid someone needs to take since it differs according to each person’s condition. Generally, though, it should be at least three liters for men and around 2.2 liters for women, per person per day.
But despite efforts by doctors and other health professionals in informing the public of the importance of sufficient and regular fluid intake, many people still fail to do so. Often the reason is being preoccupied with something that they don’t take the time to drink even when they’re thirsty.
Ignoring thirst is a habit that can have grave repercussion, especially during a hot summer. Fortunately, these days a lot of water-drinking reminder apps can be found in the app store or play store, ready for downloads. These apps, despite the differing names, have only one goal: To remind their users when it's time to drink.
By entering the person's gender and weight, the app automatically calculates the needed amount of fluid intake per day. Depending on the configured settings, the app will then be reminding the user every hour or two that it’s time to drink.
The users of these reminder apps have to press a particular icon every time they drink and a meter will show the progress until the intake reaches the daily goal. The user can also set the reminder app to ‘sports’ mode – say, if he’s doing his exercise – and the amount of fluid intake is automatically set higher. The app also provides weekly and monthly graphs of the user's water intake for a more comprehensive monitoring.
Water is a big, big part of the human body. Thus, when water intake is insufficient the person’s health may be compromised. A busy schedule is not an excuse for messing with the body’s need for water.
Water helps transport the essential nutrients the body needs – it’s how important water is for the body. It’s a good thing that modern technology provides handy help in seeing to it that one doesn’t ignore the body’s water requirements.