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Mayo Clinic Minute: Don’t let hurricane recovery dehydrate you
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Drinking enough fluids, especially water, is one of the most important things you can do to prevent heat illness while doing the strenuous work involved in hurricane recovery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should drink water before, during and after a day of cleanup.
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Just like the generator, your body needs to be refueled during storm cleanup and rebuilding.
"You need to be mindful of the symptoms of dehydration," says Dr. Michael Boniface, an emergency medicine physician.
Dr. Boniface says the initial sign can be easy to miss.
"One of the symptoms of dehydration that will present first is decreased urine output" explains Dr. Boniface.
If you’re not using the bathroom, you might not be getting enough water. And that may create more symptoms.
"There could be light-headedness, maybe some dizziness, feeling like you might pass out," says Dr. Boniface.
Here’s Dr. Boniface’s advice for avoiding dehydration.
"Drink the amount of water that you usually would need. And that is typically eight, 8-ounce glasses – or 2 quarts of water – per day," he says. "“If you’re going to be working in the yard, sweating, losing more water, you need to drink additional quantities to account for that."
Drink water throughout your workday. If you experience dehydration symptoms, rest and drink more water. See a doctor if symptoms persist, especially if your heart rate remains high or your blood pressure drops.
