This summer, like many summers before it, has seen a rash of articles warning us not only that is dehydration is dangerous, but that it is also ubiquitous. Real dehydration, when your body has lost a significant amount of water because of illness, excessive exercise or sweating, or an inability to drink, is a serious issue. But people with clinical dehydration almost always have symptoms of some sort.
These reports are worried about something completely different. They fear that otherwise healthy adults and children are walking around dehydrated, so many that dehydration has reached epidemic proportions. Under scrutiny, however, this assertion fails to hold water. That’s the topic of this week’s Healthcare Triage.
This was based on a piece I wrote for the Upshot a while ago. If you want to read more, links can be found there.
