A camper complained of being thirsty all the time, despite drinking large amounts of fluids every day.
What could be the cause? Excessive thirst can be caused by many things, including high blood sugar (diabetes), exercise and eating salty foods.
But first of all, let's look at how much fluid we need for adequate hydration.
Generally speaking, if you take your body weight in pounds and divide that by two (2), that number is how many ounces of fluids you need daily. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, you should drink about 75 ounces per day. If you are exercising in a warm climate outdoors, you may need more.
Aside from measuring fluids you drink, how else can you tell if you are well-hydrated?
Watch the color and concentration of your urine. If the color is dark and the odor is strong, you are not taking in enough liquids. This can also be a sign of a medical problem, but for most healthy people, it likely means you are dehydrated.
If you are getting adequate fluids and your urine is not dark and concentrated, consider the following questions:
- Do you add salt at meals or eat a lot of salty foods daily? If so, try cutting back on salty foods and skip the salt shaker to see if this improves your symptoms.
- Do you take daily prescription medication(s)? Many prescription medications have minor side effects, including excess thirst. Talk with your pharmacist and/or physician to see if this could be the cause.
- Are you training for an endurance event? If so, you could be losing excess salt and water during training sessions. Try adding sports drinks with sodium or eating a salty meal after runs to better replace losses.
- Have you recently had vomiting or diarrhea? Both can cause a loss of sodium and water that may lead to dehydration. Your body naturally will crave fluids and salt to replete the losses.
