I mean, I’ve heard that you can typically only survive about three days without water, but what exactly causes your body to fail when you dehydrate too much?

I guess one point is lack of salts (if you sweat a lot) but I’m specifically wondering about lack of water (although a closer explanation about how lack of salts will kill you is also appreciated)

  • Hangglide@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    In the vast majority of cases, people don’t need salt when they exercise. You just described a fringe case that virtually no one experiences. You high school football coach shouldn’t be giving you salt. That could be dangerous. They should be giving you water.

    • kiwifoxtrot@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      The coach won’t be giving them salt directly, but will always provide a sports drink which contains salts.

      Ever watch any sport and a player falls over with a cramp? They have drunk too much water and not enough electrolytes.

      Here’s a study from one hospital in Oslo, Norway. Norway is not considered a hot region of the world. Between 2010 and 2015 they treated 31,000 patients in the ER from a population of 135,000 for electrolyte imbalance. That’s roughly 18 patients a day. This is not some sort of fringe case.