We all forget about hydration. Especially in Covid times when we are not exercising or in the water teaching nearly as much as normal. I remember to hydrate if I am exercising or teaching, not so much when I am not. But recently I have discovered what purposeful hydration can really do for you, more importantly what it can prevent from happening to you.
Purposes for super hydration might be:
Having surgery.
Did you know that surgeons and surgery nurses say that dehydration is a leading cause of death during surgical procedures. Yep.
Keeping your vision and your eyes healthy.
Especially teaching in indoor chlorinated pools can make proper hydration crucial.
Keeping your voice.
Especially, again, teaching in indoor chlorinated pools can dry out and burn vocal cords You lose 70% of your hydration through your mouth if it is open. More if you are talking. Even more if you are projecting. (None of which should be happening during Covid risk btw.)
Keeping your brain and central and peripheral nervous systems and your circulation and heart and respiratory systems and your skin healthy.
All the time, but critically true in indoor chlorinated pools. (CDC/MAHC/WHO/PWTAG recommended CL levels: .5 to 2ppm with UV system, 1 to max 3ppm for all other pools indoor or out.
The trachea, bronchia, alveoli and upper airways of the lungs are damaged by chlorine and chloramines gas-offs that poison the air in badly managed indoor pools. (Chloramines are chlorine + ammonia from organic load like urine, sweat and hair dander plus product chemicals). Did you know that hair dander ammonia is more concentrated than urine ammonia? Or that the average adult walks around with 1.4 grams of fecal matter on their bottoms? (Keep that in your pool trivia repertoire!) Such good reasons to take a shower and wash hair before immersing in a pool. Getting your skin and hair wet before you enter pool water or air will form a barrier against toxic chemical compounds.
It is important to eliminate as much chlorine, chloramines and bromine (disinfectants in tap water) as we can and to add to the water we drink the ingredients that our earth now lacks:
Minerals and Electrolytes.
What are these things anyway? There are hundreds of trace minerals and electrolytes we’re no longer getting from our water and food: potassium, sodium, magnesium, chloride, selenium, zinc, sulfate.  And these are just some problems their absence can cause:
Seizures
Electrolytes help carry electrical signals from cell to cell. If your electrolytes are out of balance, the normal electrical messages can get mixed up, which can lead to involuntary muscle contractions and sometimes to a loss of consciousness.
Low blood volume shock (hypovolemic shock).Â
This is one of the most serious, and sometimes life-threatening, complications of dehydration. It occurs when low blood volume causes a drop in blood pressure and a drop in the amount of oxygen in your body.
Some of us experience this on a regular basis. When I was younger, I never knew when or why I would occasionally pass out. Always after vaccinations. I couldn’t have the second two polio vaccinations. I was out for twenty minutes 20 minutes after the first. I go into low blood pressure shock during anesthesia. That can make getting a tooth implant and bone graft life threatening. I have a medical bracelet that tells medical people I am hypersensitive to sedatives, anesthesia and pain killers and to start with 10% of what is normal. No one has ever gotten past 25% after the time I did not wake up for four days.
Getting a vaccination calls for super hydration.
Low blood pressure (BP) and hypovolemia happened with my first Pfizer shot, my first vaccination 50+ years. I am super-hydrating in advance of my second shot tomorrow. Stay tuned!!!
Dehydration problems are compounded by chronic illnesses such as diabetes and dementia, and by the use of certain medications. I have been on Advair for past month. Fluticasone can save your life but also kill you. Aging is a chronic illness. Having uncontrolled or untreated diabetes puts you at high risk of dehydration. Kidney disease also, as do medications that increase urination. Colitis and cystitis can be critically dehydrating. Even having a cold or sore throat, because you’re less likely to feel like eating or drinking. Fevers are dehydrating. Older people have less blood volume and less hydration in their blood and cells. And we also simply forget to hydrate. Much research is focusing on the relationship between hydration and Cognition, executive function, memory loss, and Alzheimers and Dementia, not to mention the relationship between hydration and connective tissue resilience and muscle performance.
Getting more electrolytes into our water is important. (Sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, zinc from sea minerals is best. I use quality sea salt with iodine.To get the full complement, I use Colloida Life: Trace Minerals and Electrolytes. And/or HiLyte. Neither has added sugar like Pedialyte and Gatorade or even worse, artificial sweeteners. I also use an alkalizing water filter. You also alkalize water when you add minerals and electrolytes.
Not going blind (I have chemically etched corneas and macular degeneration and a hole in my retina) and not tearing your muscles out of your bones (I have EDS), and fear of imminent death or dementia, are all powerful reasons to Hydrate with a Purpose!