A common recommendation is to drink at least 8 eight ounce glasses (2 Liters) of fluid daily, and more if you are exercising or out in the hot weather. However, men need an average of 13 eight ounce glasses (3 Liters) of fluid and women need an average of 9 eight ounce glasses of fluid every day. [3] X Trustworthy Source Cleveland Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source Or, you can also divide your body weight in half and drink that amount of water in ounces. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, then you would need to drink 80 ounces (5 Pints) of water per day.
How much you exercise. You will need into increase your water consumption when you work out. Your environment. Hotter temperatures, such as during hot weather, in a sauna, or even humidified air indoors, require greater water consumption. Your altitude. Higher altitudes are more dehydrating. Pregnancy and breast-feeding, both of which increase your water needs.
Note that, for workouts that are very intense or longer than one hour in length, an electrolyte sports beverage is preferable to water to maintain your hydration. This is because intense exercise causes you to lose a lot of salt through sweat. Without adequate salt, regardless of how much water you drink you will be unable to effectively absorb it through your digestive tract. Therefore, to compensate for lost salt, the electrolytes in the sports drink (such as Gatorade or Powerade) are key, and will help you to absorb the water you are drinking more efficiently.
If you have a gastrointestinal flu, you will need to make a big effort to stay hydrated at this time. Your best bet is an electrolyte sports drink rather than pure water because, similar to intense endurance exercise, you will be losing a lot of salt through diarrhea and/or vomiting. Take small sips frequently throughout the day. If you cannot keep the fluids down or if you are continuing to have diarrhea and vomiting despite efforts to hydrate yourself, then you will need to go to a clinic or urgent care setting for intravenous hydration. In order to adequately hydrate yourself when there is salt loss involved, you will need to replace not only the water, but also the electrolytes (hence why Gatorade, Powerade, or another sports drink is your ideal option). If you have an illness of this nature, sip on fluids consistently throughout the day and consume as much as you are able to. It is better to sip slowly and often than to drink a lot at once, as consuming too much at one time may trigger further nausea and/or vomiting. Note that, in very severe illnesses, you may require IV fluids in a hospital setting to maintain hydration. See your doctor if you are concerned as it is better to be safe than sorry. Other medical and health conditions may also affect your hydration status, though seldom as severely as a gastrointestinal flu. Speak to your doctor if you would like further information as to how your health conditions (such as kidney disease or other chronic diseases) may have an impact on your water consumption and hydration status.
not urinating or urinating less than is usual (an infant might have dry diapers for three hours or more) dry skin feeling dizzy or lightheaded constipation sunken eyes and/or sunken fontanels rapid breathing and/or rapid heart rate
