Contents:
- Medical Video: Living in a Tiny House Stinks (Sometimes)
- This is the reason why the bodies of elderly parents don't feel thirsty
- How much is the fluid needs of the parents?
Medical Video: Living in a Tiny House Stinks (Sometimes)
Did you know that parents might include, your mom, dad, grandfather, and grandmother no longer get enough fluids like most people? This problem is not caused because they are lazy to drink. However, because they don't feel thirsty even though their bodies need fluids. Why does this happen? Here's the explanation.
This is the reason why the bodies of elderly parents don't feel thirsty
According to research published in the Journal of Gerontology reveals that thirst for parents cannot be a good "guide" to see or measure your grandparents' drinking needs. Although the same thing applies to us who are still young. However, parents do not feel thirsty even though their bodies lack fluids. The thirst sensation decreases with age.
Research conducted by the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, as reported by Health Central found that this was related to kidney function. The kidneys function "monitor" and control the balance of water in the body, and ensure that the body's tissues receive enough water to work properly.
The kidneys react to changes in water levels in the body throughout the day. This is because the kidneys are key to the breakdown of urine chemistry. When water intake in the body decreases, this kidney function will adjust to take the initiative to save the remaining water in the body, not throw it away.
However, the kidney function of parents to balance water slowly decreases with age. Whereas according to a study conducted by Gary Egan, a professor of neuro imaging experts at the University of Melbourne found that this is due to the weakness of your grandparents' body signals to feel thirsty despite lack of fluid.
As we get older, the parents' abdominal muscles are getting weaker. So, even though they only drink or eat a little food, their stomach expands bigger not directly proportional to food supply or the drink they put in the mouth. This causes them sometimes not feeling thirsty, and hungry because they feel still full.
This research was published in the Journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also found that the throat signals of these parents were less sensitive as they grew older to feel thirsty, so they did not feel thirsty anymore.
How much is the fluid needs of the parents?
If you care for your loved ones who are elderly, make sure you pay attention to drinking. Don't let him drink if he only remembers he hasn't drunk water today. The need for fluid intake is certainly different from those of you who are still young. Never force them to drink eight glasses per day.
According to research conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madis as reported by WebMD drinking eight glasses per day for parents is dangerous.If when we are young our body contains about 70 percent water, these parents only contain 55 percent water. The water in our body decreases with increasing age, this explains why fluid requirements can vary.
According to The Association of UK Dietitians the need for fluid intake for these parents is 2,000 ml for men, and 1,600 ml for women. You can make a drinking schedule for your parents and divide it into several glasses to drink in a day. For your convenience, paste a drink schedule in the place that you pass most often for example a refrigerator. Mark how many glasses of your loved one drink. This is very useful to avoid dehydration.
