NEW ORLEANS — We are continuing our look at how to deal with this heat wave we are having.
And one of the questions we wanted answers to is what is the best way to keep from getting dehydrated. Mild dehydration can cause problems with blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature. Severe dehydration causes weakness or confusion. In extreme cases, that can cause kidney and brain damage, and even be fatal. So, what you drink in the heat is important.
People in and around the Crescent City know when the sweat pours out, the fluids must flow back in.
When we asked an asphalt worker how he stays cool, he answered, “Everything possible. Drink all kind of fluids.”
“I hydrate myself and keep moving forward. It's hot out here,” said another man on the asphalt crew.
But doctors tell us there are cold beverages that help, and ones that actually make dehydration worse.
“You got to be drinking something, and beer doesn't count. I tell them during, back at Jazz Fest, people always say, ‘Well, I drink beer all the time,’ No. Absolutely not. Beer does not count as rehydration fluid,” said pediatrician Dr. Corey Hébert.
That's right. Alcohol, and anything with lots of sugar, like juices and soft drinks, act as a diuretic, making you lose a lot of fluid. And so does any thing with lots of caffeine, coffee, tea, and some so called energy drinks, that are loaded with both sugar and caffeine.
“You want to replace fluid losses. Water's the best, not cold, cool water. No caffeinated drinks whatsoever, because caffeine also acts as a diuretic. No alcohol, because the alcohol as a diuretic, it's nothing but a sugar. Even Gatorade, some of these sweet drinks, have too much sugar in them,” said Dr. Jim Diaz, and LSUHSC public health expert.
Diuretics make your kidneys make more urine. And all the extra salt and water in you, gets flushed out at a time when you are sweating it out too. And that leads to dehydration. And you're not off the hook if your drink is low, or no calorie.
“Even diet beverages with aspartame, or some other sugar substitute, they’re all diuretics and they could further dehydrate you,” said Dr. Diaz.
So, whether you heard it from your mom:
“Right now we're hydrated. We have our water bottles. Couple of us have hats on,” said a woman with children in City Park.
“Very hot and you just have to drink plenty of water stay cool,” said another woman in City Park.
Or a doctor:
“If you're constantly just drinking water, and getting enough to replace your loses, water should be fine,” said Dr. Hébert.
The advice is the same and very simple.
Tomorrow, we are going to show you the quickest way to lower your body temperature. It is used by doctors on people and veterinarians on dogs.