Dehydration from sports: symptoms, dangers and what to do

Dangerous dehydration

Water is literally the elixir of life: an adult body consists of 50 to 65 per cent water, and the electrolytes it contains are needed for metabolic processes. In addition, water cools our body, regulates our temperature, lubricates our joints, transfers relevant nutrients and messenger substances and functions as a means of transport in excretory processes.

If the proportion of water in our body drops, our body temperature is no longer adequately regulated and our kidneys flush out too little water, which means that toxins are retained and nutrients are transported more poorly.

Definition of dehydration

Dehydration is the loss of body fluids. It occurs when the body loses more fluid than it absorbs. If you regularly drink too little, the body is constantly in a kind of "emergency mode", but excessive fluid loss can also occur acutely, for example during intensive sporting activity in high temperatures: insufficient fluid intake before, during and after sport increases the risk of dehydration, as sport increases fluid loss through sweating.

What to do in case of dehydration?

Immediate hydration is essential to treat dehydration. Water or isotonic drinks are recommended to compensate for the high mineral and water loss. In addition to appropriate drinks from sports shops, apple spritzer/apple juice diluted with water, unsweetened coconut water or non-alcoholic beer are also suitable.

Severe dehydration can be treated with electrolyte solutions, if necessary an infusion is also required.

In addition to drinking, cooling and resting are important for regeneration.