Dehydration can happen at any age and from a variety of primary causes including diarrhea, vomiting, use of diuretics, exercise, and exposure to extreme heat. The body has compensatory mechanisms to balance mild dehydration or fluid deficit of 2-4%; however, moderate fluid deficit of 5-8% can lead to electrolyte imbalances, postural hypotension, and dryness in skin and mucous membranes (Porth, 2011). In severe dehydration, or fluid deficits greater than 8% severe hypotension and shock can occur (Porth, 2011). The circulatory system has its own compensatory mechanisms for fluid volume deficits. These include changes in cardiac output, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Case Study:
The patient is a 55-year-old man admitted to the hospital for dehydration secondary to vomiting. The physical examination of the patient revealed dry mucous membranes and vital signs as follows: Pulse 110, blood pressure 100/60, and respirations of 20.
Components of Blood Pressure
The two measurable components in the blood pressure equation are the systolic and diastolic pressures. They are writt...
Vital to maintenance of homeostasis is the regulation of plasma osmolality. The Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system, which works to regulate blood pressure, plays a crucial role in fluid balance. When dehydration occurs, blood osmolality increases, which stimulates the release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), ultimately leading to increased water reabsorption. This leads to more concentrated urine, and less concentrated plasma. Low plasma osmolality works in the opposite fashion: ADH release is inhibited, water reabsorption decreases, and urine is less concentrated. The added electrolytes and carbohydrates in Gatorade would facilitate greater fluid retention through stimulation of renin and vasopressin, increasing urinary sodium reabsorption (3). Studies of both urine volume and plasma volume changes are eff...
-The patient was having pitting edema and inspiratory rales because the increase of sodium caused an increase of fluid in the vascular system and lungs.
Mrs. Jones, An elderly woman, presented severely short of breath. She required two rest periods in order to ambulate across the room, but refused the use of a wheel chair. She was alert and oriented, but was unable to speak in full sentences. Her skin was pale and dry. Her vital signs were as follows: Temperature 97.3°F, pulse 83, respirations 27, blood pressure 142/86, O2 saturation was 84% on room air. Auscultation of the lungs revealed crackles in the lower lobes and expiratory wheezing. Use of accessory muscles was present. She was put on 2 liters of oxygen via nasal canal. With the oxygen, her O2 saturation increased to 90%. With exertion her O2 saturation dropped to the 80's. Mrs. Jones began coughing and she produced large amounts of milky sputum.
Blood pressure is measured by two pressures; the systolic and diastolic. The systolic pressure, the top number, is the pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts. The diastolic pressure, the bottom number, measures the pressure between heartbeats. A normal blood pressure is when the systolic pressure is less than 120mmHg and Diastolic pressure is less than 80mmHg. Hypertension is diagnosed when the systolic pressure is greater than 140mmHg and the diastolic pressure is greater than 90mmHg. The physician may also ask about medical history, family history, life style habits, and medication use that could also contribute to hypertension
Client Profile: Lane Bronson is a 55 year old male with a history of angina, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, COPD, and sleep apnea. He comes to the physican’s office complaining of worsening shortness of breath. His skin tone is grey, and his angina is worsening. Previously stable, he now does not get relief from rest or nitroglycerin. The physician called 911 and had Mr. Bronson directly admitted to the hospital.
Mr. GB is a 78 year old white male admitted to Bay Pines VAMC on 6/18/96. for " atypical chest pain and hemoptysis". V/S BP 114/51, P 84, R 24, T 97.4. He seems alert and oriented x 3 and cheerful. Bowel sounds present x 4. Pt. has a red area on his coccyx. Silvadene treatments have been started. Pt. Has a fungal lung infection with a pleural suction drainage tube inserted in his chest . Pt is extremely thin with poor skin turgor with a diagnosis of cachexia ( wasting) secondary to malnutrition and infection. Patient is no known allergies to drugs but is allergic to aerosol sprays disinfectants and dust.. Advanced directives on chart. Code status DNR. Primary physician Dr. R, Thoracic surgeon Dr. L. Psychology Dr.W. There is PT, OT Dietary and Infectious Disease consults when necessary. He lives with his wife who he has been married to for 56 years. His son and his daughter come to visit him. He does not smoke. He wears dentures but did not bring them. He dose not use a hearing aid but he does have a hearing deficit.
In the older population, dehydration can also be caused by ineffective kidneys, they may not be able to hydrate themselves due to a disability such as stroke, or they chose not to intake fluids. Hydration is an important fac...
According to VanMeter and Hubert (2014), dehydration is caused by insufficient body fluid resulting from inadequate intake or excessive loss of fluids. It can also be caused by the combination of both (p. 20). The excess fluid losses can be via renal, gastrointestinal, insensible losses, or fluid shift such as ascites, effusion, burns and sepsis. The excess water loss happens in intracellular and extracellular compartments, but it is commonly starts from extracellular compartment.
There are 80 countries that have been suffering from a lack of clean water, and two billion people lack access to freshwater, especially South Africa (Alois). This area of countries is the driest in the world - Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt and so on. Like in the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, Nya, who lives in Sudan, has been lacking clean water. She has to find water every day for her family. Luckily, Nya got help from Salva who used to live in Sudan and came back from America to build the water system for her village. However, there are still many people around the world that have been suffering to find clean water for basic use. There are many factors that cause a lack of clean water around the world: geography of countries, deforestation,
D. standing near her room, breathing sharply. While asked what has just happened, she answered, ‘I feel dizzy and can faint!’ Mrs. D. then explained that she rose up from her chair in the television room and felt lightheaded. I decided to bring her to the room hoping she would feel less dizziness if she could sit. After consultation with my mentor and third year unit nursing student, I decided to perform measurement of her vital signs. Since only electronic sphygmomanometer was available for me that time, I had to use it for my procedure. Gladly, I discovered that I have already used such equipment in my previous nursing practice. Using the standard sized calf, I found that her blood pressure was 135/85, respirations were 16, and her pulse was 96 beats per minute (bpm). However, I decided to recheck the pulse manually, founding that it was irregular (78 bpm). The patient stated that she felt better after rest. Immediately after the incident I made a decision to explore carefully the medical chart of Mrs. D., along with her nursing care plan. That helped me to discover multiple medical diagnoses influencing her
Rationale: Early signs of dehydration include thirst and cessation of perspiration, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, lightheadedness, and orthostatic hypotension. Ackley and Ladwig p. 345
David Benton explores the effects of dehydration on the behavior and cognition of different age groups in his scholarly article “Dehydration Influences Mood and Cognition: A Plausible Hypothesis?” Although not all studies investigating the relationship between these factors have been consistent, Benton expresses that one age group, children between seven and nine years old, has produced consistent results in four separate studies of dehydration and its effect on brain and behavior. Benton describes each of these four studies in greater detail and reveals that dehydration negatively impacts both memory and visual attention of young children in school. In addition, Benton relates the limited or prohibited water access in school to dehydration,
60% of our body is made out of liquid and water is one of the most common liquids we know. We need water as humans but what if the water was contaminated and unclean, we would have a lot of diseases that would spread and cause death everywhere and so NASA created a water purification device and its job is basically the process to purify water. One of the main reasons NASA did this is because of their space programs. We could bring as much water out of our atmosphere but it’s not going to last for long because the water will get dirty and unsafe to drink. Water is used for a lot of things and the water cycle does not exist in outer space, so water purification is water cycle, but in a machine. The machine purifies polluted water or any contaminated water.
The patient has high temperature-sign of fever, a very fast pulse rate (tachycardia), and chest wheezing when listened to using a stethoscope (Harries, Maher, & Graham, 2004, p.
The mild symptoms of dehydration can occur two to five percent loss in water. The most common symptoms of the mild in adults are tiredness, fatigue or dryness like thirst, dry skin, or dry mouse. Some pains also carry with the mild such as headaches, constipations, or muscle cramps. Even with the mild can hurt our emotions or brain. For example, we may start to lose our appetites or concentration.