Adventure Doc
keeping you healthy for life's adventures
Erik McLaughlin MD, MPH
Affiliates
FLUIDS
Water is 70% of your body! That is a lot. We are more water than anything else. It makes good sense to drink a lot of it. However, drinking the proper amount of water is not for everybody. Some medical conditions such as heart failure or those on water restriction should check with their doctor first.
DRINK ME fluids
PRODUCT REVIEWS
The rule we use at the hospital to determine how much water a person should be drinking per day is this:
Take the person’s weight in kilograms (1 kilogram is 2.2 pounds so take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2). For example, let’s take 60 kilograms or 132 pounds. For the first 10 kilograms of weight you need to drink 1 liter of water. For the second 10 kilograms of weight you need to drink ½ of a liter of water. That is only for 20 kilograms! What about the other 40 kilograms? Well, for that drink 20 mL for each kilogram. For the 40 kilograms you need another 800 mL of water. (ther are 1000 mL of water in one liter) That is 8/10 of a liter. So for this 60 kilogram person, they should be drinking 1 liter plus ½ liter plus 800 mL which is a total of 2.3 liters of water…per day! Not many people are doing this.
In case you missed it, we’ll go over it again. This time with somebody who weighs 200 pounds.
200 pounds divided by 2.2 to get the number in kilograms is 90 kilograms
for the first 10 kilograms you should drink 1 liter of water
for the second 10 kilograms you should drink ½ of a liter
for each kilogram left over you should drink 20 mL per kilogram
so, that is 90 kilograms minus the first and second 10 kilos, leaving 70 kilograms
multiple this 70 kilograms left over by 20 to equal 1,400 mL or 1.4 liters
the total daily water intake for somebody weighing 200 pounds/90 kilograms should be 1 liter plus ½ liter plus 1.4 liters to total 2.9 liters per day. Remember that this doesn’t include water lost from your body as sweat; diarrhea or vomiting and drinks that make you pee a lot like caffeine drinks or alcohol.
MAINTENANCE FLUIDS
WEIGHT
WATER PER DAY
30 Kg/66 lbs
1.7 L iters
50 Kg /110 lbs
2.1 L iters
If all of this math makes you feel a little lost, here is an easy table:
60 Kg /132 lbs
2.3 L iters
70 Kg /154 lbs
2.5 L iters
80 Kg /176 lbs
2.7 L iters
90 Kg /198 lbs
2.9 L iters
100 Kg /220 lbs
3.1 L iters
I am a smaller guy, so I try to drink 2.5 liters per day, minimum. I have to drink more when I exercise or drink alcohol. Most days I hit my target amount of water, but not always. The point is that I try to and usually do drink my 2.5 liters per day. Drinking water helps prevent acne, kidney stones, urinary infections and makes you feel great. A quick check to see how hydrated you are is to look at the color of your urine. Dark yellow or even orange urine means you are dehydrated. I try to make sure that my urine is almost clear. Urea is a chemical in your body that is made up mainly of ammonia.
This is what gives urine that yellow color and distinct smell. The darker your urine, the more urea you are excreting. This means that your body is saving all that urea and releasing it in one go, because it is not getting another chance. Give you body more chances to release these waster products by drinking more water and urinating more frequently. The number of times you urinate per day says a lot. Only urinating twice per day is a sign of dehydration. Ideally, you will be urinating 4-5 times per day and the urine will be almost clear. Of course there are exceptions to this, such as certain medications that change the color of your urine.
Electrolytes are an important part of your body’s fluid. Some examples of electrolytes include potassium and salt/sodium. Of course it is a good idea to drink plenty of water. Most people with a healthy diet get enough of these electrolytes in their food. There is no need to add additional electrolytes to your water. However, certain times it is important to do this. Some of these times include when you are sweating a lot, as in exercising or working in a hot environment. If you have been vomiting or have diarrhea, you lose some electrolytes. This is another time when it is good to replenish your electrolytes with a special fluid.
There are a lot of commercial electrolyte solutions.
WHO "ORS" SOLUTION
ELECTROLYTE
AMOUNT
I prefer Emergen- C by Alacer. Tasty and portable!
Glucose (sugar)
75 mmol/liter
NaCl (sodium chloride or salt)
75 mmol/liter
KCl (potassium chloride)
20 mmol/liter
Trisodium citrate (another sodium/salt)
10 mmol/liter
Phewww, that is not easy for me to understand and I work with that stuff everyday. Fortunately, we have sports drinks that have this stuff already inside. Gatorade, Pedialyte, All-sport, Emergen-C and many others have a balance of electrolytes in them! That makes it easy! If you get into a bind and can’t get a store bought electrolyte drink, make your own. Take one liter of water and add 2 pinches of salt and 2 pinches of sugar. Easy.
Remember that drinking water and electrolytes is not for everybody. Certain conditions such as heart failure and hyperkalemia can be made worse with to much fluid! Make sure to check with you doctor about your individual case before doing anything.
