What happens if you have diarrhea and dehydration

For adults, diarrhea and dehydration can cause general weakness, and in severe cases, they may need to go to the hospital for infusion. Diarrhea and dehydration are so serious for young people, let alone the elderly. Many people worry that the elderly may die from diarrhea and dehydration. Although this symptom itself cannot affect the life span of the elderly, other diseases caused by diarrhea and dehydration are the most dangerous.

1. Will the elderly die from diarrhea and dehydration?

If diarrhea and dehydration in the elderly are not promptly treated, it will cause great harm to the patient's body or even death. Unlike young people, diarrhea is not a "small problem" for the elderly, especially severe diarrhea. Due to the large loss of water in the body, the body is in a state of dehydration, which may also lead to a decrease in blood volume and increase the risk of stroke.

Calculated by weight, the human body is approximately 60% water. Normal people replenish body fluids through drinking water, sweating and tears. We lose fluids through urination to maintain fluid balance. When fluid levels are normal, blood flows at a steady rate throughout the body, and there is enough excess water to form tears, saliva, urine, and feces. When the body fluid is insufficient, that is, "dehydration", the patient will cry without tears, have a dry mouth, and a sandpaper-like tongue. The urine is dark yellow, and the total urine volume per day will also decrease. In severe cases, the heart rate will accelerate, blood pressure will change, shock may occur, and even death may occur.

Dehydration is a gradual process. Medically, the degree of dehydration is roughly estimated based on the amount of weight lost and is divided into three degrees: mild, moderate, and severe.

2. Seek medical attention promptly and pay attention to hydration during care

What we need to remind you here is that, unlike young people, diarrhea is not a "small problem" for the elderly, especially when they have watery stools several times in a short period of time. It must be taken seriously and you should not think that taking berberine or antidiarrheal drugs at home will solve the problem. In fact, diarrhea caused by acute gastroenteritis can cause great harm to the health of the elderly. Not only may it cause a stroke due to severe dehydration, it can also easily lead to complications such as hypoglycemia and heart disease. It is best to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

If the elderly person insists on not seeking medical treatment, family members should pay attention to hydration when giving them antidiarrhea drugs. Drink more light salt water and eat liquid food, such as porridge (with a little salt), fruit juice, and lotus root powder. Avoid drinking gas-producing drinks such as soy milk and milk to avoid irritating the gastrointestinal tract and aggravating symptoms.

Elderly people with diarrhea are prone to dehydration and need to replenish water in time. Depending on the severity of the disease, intravenous fluid supplementation can be adopted, combined with sodium and potassium supplementation therapy to prevent water and electrolyte disorders from inducing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases or inducing acute renal failure.

If the condition is mild or you cannot seek medical treatment in time, you can make your own salt water at home for oral rehydration: 500 ml of rice soup + 1.75 grams of fine salt or homemade sugar and salt water: 500 ml of clean water + 20 grams of white sugar + 1.75 grams of fine salt, boil and take. During the use of the medicine, you should observe the number of diarrhea episodes, the amount of stool, and the amount of urine, and control them flexibly. When the diarrhea is relieved and the urine volume is increased, you can stop taking the medicine and seek medical attention in time.

3. Pay attention to the symptoms of stroke

While caring for the elderly with diarrhea, family members should also pay special attention to whether the elderly have any precursor symptoms of stroke. For example, if an elderly person suddenly develops slurred speech, sudden difficulty seeing in one or both eyes, paralysis of one side of the face or limbs, weakness, dizziness, headache and other symptoms, this should not be taken lightly and should be highly suspected to be a precursor to a stroke and the person should be sent to the hospital for emergency treatment in a timely manner.

What happens if you have diarrhea and dehydration?

For some elderly people, the above symptoms may only last for a few minutes to an hour before they are relieved. However, you should not take it lightly and it is still necessary to seek medical attention in time. This may be a minor stroke. The medical name for mini-stroke is transient ischemic attack, which is a clinical manifestation of transient mild cerebral ischemia caused by small blood clots blocking part of the cerebral arteries. The symptoms of a minor stroke may be fleeting and the attack time may be extremely short. Many people do not take it seriously and think that it will be fine once the symptoms disappear. Little do people know that microembolism is a warning sign of cerebral infarction. If the opportunity for timely treatment is missed, it is likely to lead to a major stroke, that is, a significant cerebral infarction.

Will the elderly die from diarrhea and dehydration?

4. How to prevent and treat diarrhea in the elderly

1. Get timely treatment. Some elderly people are reluctant to go to the hospital for treatment after suffering from diarrhea, but instead take some medicine at home or simply do not take any medicine. This practice is wrong. The physical health and appetite of the elderly are poor. After suffering from diarrhea, their bodies often lose a large amount of energy in a short period of time, causing the condition to deteriorate rapidly. Therefore, the elderly should go to the hospital immediately to receive formal treatment after suffering from diarrhea.

2. Targeted treatment should be carried out. Clinically, there are many causes of diarrhea in the elderly, such as intestinal infection, food poisoning, indigestion, exogenous cold, gastrointestinal dysfunction, intestinal flora disorder and tumors. In addition to diarrhea caused by bacterial infection, diarrhea caused by indigestion, intestinal dysfunction and intestinal flora imbalance is also common. These situations generally do not require the use of antibiotics, but should be treated with digestive enzymes (such as multi-enzyme tablets, etc.), gastrokinetic drugs and probiotics (such as bifidobacterium capsules, etc.). Therefore, elderly patients with diarrhea should not use antibiotics blindly, but should provide their medical history in detail to their doctors and receive targeted treatment under the guidance of their doctors.

3. Maintain the balance of water and electrolytes in the body. The physical condition of the elderly is often poor. After diarrhea occurs, they often lose a large amount of water and electrolytes, resulting in dehydration, electrolyte imbalance or acidosis, and may even suffer from shock, which is life-threatening. Therefore, elderly patients with diarrhea not only need to replenish the water lost by the body in time, but also need to replenish electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, and chloride to maintain the balance of water and electrolytes. When the diarrhea condition is mild, elderly diarrhea patients can take some glucose and saline for treatment on their own. If symptoms of collapse occur, you should go to the hospital immediately for intravenous fluid therapy.

4. Take active measures to prevent diarrhea. The elderly should do more outdoor activities, pay attention to food hygiene, and regularly consume foods containing digestive enzymes and lactic acid bacteria (such as yogurt, etc.). In autumn and winter, the elderly should also take some warming measures to prevent diarrhea caused by catching cold. If elderly people who already suffer from malnutrition or other chronic diseases develop diarrhea, they will further lose the energy to maintain normal body activities, making their condition more serious. Such elderly people should take more active measures to prevent diarrhea in normal times, and their families should also take better care of them.