6 Signs Your Child Could Be Dehydrated

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Dehydration is a serious consideration for parents when caring for their children. If your child becomes dehydrated, this could lead to serious health complications – and, in extreme cases, fatality. Are you interested in learning some parental tips and tricks for preventing dehydration?

Keep reading to learn why hydration is essential for your child and how you can encourage your child to drink more water and stay hydrated.

Why Is Dehydration Dangerous?

Being able to spot dehydration in your child is essential because dehydration is linked to several adverse health complications.

To help you understand why dehydration is dangerous, here are some of the potential consequences of severe or mild dehydration:

Heatstroke – if you’re dehydrated, and your body temperature increases due to exercise or external temperatures, you will suffer heat injury and potentially heatstroke. Heatstroke can cause coma, seizures and, in severe cases, can be fatal. To prevent heat stroke during summer, you should stay hydrated and invest in a cooling unit for your home.
Urinary and kidney complications – your kidneys need a high volume of water to expel waste from your system. If there is a lack of water in the urinary tract to clean it, bacteria can develop, leading to a urinary tract infection. Additionally, severe dehydration can lead to kidney stones and, in extreme cases, kidney failure.
Seizures – when your body lacks water, this can cause an imbalance in your electrolytes, which are responsible for transmitting signals from cell to cell. When your body’s electrolytes are imbalanced, this can lead to seizures.
Hypovolemic shock – when you don’t have enough water in your system, this can dehydrate the blood. When you are extremely dehydrated, the blood volume decreases, hindering your body’s ability to transport oxygen to different muscles and organs, leading to death.

Of course, most of these consequences occur only with severe dehydration. However, to prevent dehydration from putting your child at risk, knowing the implications and why staying hydrated is crucial for the body’s function is helpful.

6 Signs Your Child Could Be Dehydrated

Now that you know why you should keep your child hydrated, let’s discuss some ways to spot dehydration in your child, restore their hydration levels, and keep them safe.

Here are the six signs your child could be dehydrated:

Your child’s tongue and mouth are dry – if your child is dehydrated, they will not produce as much saliva. If your child’s mouth is dry, you might notice that their breath smells due to the lack of saliva to clean away food and bacteria.
No tears when crying – when your baby cries, there should be tears. If there are no tears, this could be due to dehydration.
Sunken eyes – when we are dehydrated, the bags under our eyes become more sunken, which is why staying hydrated helps you to look refreshed and vital. If your baby’s eyes are sunken, this could indicate dehydration.
Wrinkled and dry skin – if your child has dry, irritated, or wrinkled skin, this could indicate that they are not getting enough water daily.
Rapid breathing – since water helps to increase blood volume and transport oxygen around the body, dehydration can lead to rapid breathing in your baby or infant.
Infrequent urination – if your infant or baby isn’t urinating regularly, this could indicate dehydration. A baby or infant should be wetting their diaper around six times each day.

If you spot any of these signs in your child, you should investigate the severity of the dehydration and either call a doctor or take steps to increase your child’s water intake. Here are some signs that you should contact a doctor:

Vomiting and diarrhea.
No urination in 8 hours.
Lethargy – if your child is not responding to stimuli or sleeping too much.

How To Prevent Dehydration For Your Child

To avoid dehydration for your infant or child, you need to know what products and advice are available.

Here are some tips to prevent your child from becoming dehydrated:

Little and often – when it comes to keeping your child hydrated, you should supply them with water little and often. Your child won’t be able to consume much water in one go, so water should be available to them constantly throughout the day for little sips here and there.
Ice lollies – freezing your child’s favorite fruits and smoothie blends in the summer months can help you to encourage them to drink more water. If you have a fussy eater and struggle to get your child to eat enough, you can always try making milkshake or even homemade ice-cream mixed with protein powder, which will help to keep your child calm and hydrated during the summer!
Flavored options – it might be the case that your child doesn’t want to drink water because they simply don’t like the taste. You can always try healthy flavored water for children to encourage them to try and drink water.
Fruits and vegetables – fruits and vegetables have a high water content and can increase your child’s fiber, water, and protein intake.

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Summary

Dehydration is a severe issue for babies, toddlers, and children. You are responsible for ensuring that they get enough water throughout the day. If your child shows critical signs of dehydration, you should seek medical advice. By implementing the little and often technique and using appealing options like flavored water and ice lollies, you can prevent dehydration in your child, toddler, or baby.