When you have a fever during illness, the body heats up and needs to cool itself down by sweating. Perspiration consists of water and several vital salts (electrolytes) like sodium, potassium and chloride. ⁴ Someone who has diarrhoea loses electrolytes such as sodium, chloride, potassium and bicarbonate. They can also lose up to 200 ml of fluid per kilogram of body weight in 24 hours. That could be more than 12 litres in one day for a person weighing 60 kg! When someone does not adequately replace this fluid loss, they could dehydrate. ¹

Recognising the signs of dehydration

How do you know if you or your child is dehydrated? In the early stages of dehydration, generally, the person will experience no signs or symptoms. As dehydration increases,  they may experience some symptoms. ¹

When someone shows signs of severe dehydration, it is best to get them to a medical facility as soon as possible, as they will need to be treated intravenously (directly into the vein with a drip). ¹

You may need more than water as a dehydration treatment due to diarrhoea

Drinking enough water during the day is very important to prevent dehydration, whether you are well or during an illness such as diarrhoea. So why is drinking only plain water not enough to treat dehydration during a bout of diarrhoea? ^1,2

When a person suffers from diarrhoea, it damages or irritates the intestines. Consequently, they do not absorb nutrients (specifically sodium) or water from the liquids or foods we drink or eat as they are supposed to. If we cannot absorb sodium, we can also not absorb water, and dehydration can worsen. ³

So how do we get to absorb the sodium?

Although the intestine cannot absorb sodium because of the damage, it can still absorb glucose. As we absorb the glucose through the intestinal wall, the sodium is also carried through with the glucose – we call this a “coupling mechanism”. Water is then drawn into the body from the intestines as water always follows sodium. ³

Oral rehydration solutions (ORS)

An oral rehydration solution (ORS) to treat dehydration should have a specific formulation with the correct combination and quantities of ingredients to replace the salts lost in watery diarrhoea. We should give an ORS to all persons with diarrhoea, no matter their age and regardless of whether they show dehydration symptoms or not. The World Health Organisation (WHO) found that we can safely and effectively treat dehydration from acute diarrhoea of any cause and at any age, except when dehydration is severe, in over 90 % of cases by the simple method of oral rehydration using a single fluid. ^1,5

REHIDRAT Oral rehydration solution

REHIDRAT® is SA’s  No. 1 oral electrolyte drink, which contains an optimal balance of sugars, salts and minerals to replenish lost fluids and help prevent and treat dehydration and electrolyte depletion.⁶

REHIDRAT® is available in 3 flavours – Blackcurrant, Orange, and Vanilla and contains no artificial preservatives, sweeteners or colourants and is suitable for the whole family.

Preparing REHIDRAT® is easy – follow us on YouTube for easy instructions

Offer oral rehydration solution to infants using a method they are familiar with, for instance, a baby bottle, cup or spoon. Always prepare the fresh solution daily and dispose of any unused solution after 24 hours.

You should give Infants less than one year of age  ½ to 1 cup (100 – 200 ml) of REHIDRAT® for every bowel movement.

Furthermore, you should give children 1 to 5 years of age at least one cup (200 ml) for every bowel movement, while older children and adults should drink enough REHIDRAT® to quench their thirst and replace the fluid lost in every stool.