Although a person may be able to survive without food for quite some time, as explained in a previous article entitled Food Deprivation, going without water is definitely not a smart idea. Living without water is very different from living without food. Not consuming enough water will result in water dehydration, which takes place in a very short amount of time. It’s important to state that people need water to live and that it’s absolutely essential to replenish the water that we lose daily in order for our organs to function properly. How do we lose water you ask? Well, we lose water through the following ways: sweat, breathing, urine and feces.
According to the Scientific American, an average adult can lose up to 1.5 liters of water through sweat alone during severe heat. Some readers might be wondering why being dehydrated is dangerous. Well, when a person is dehydrated in high heat, his or her body temperature will continue rise and that person will suffer from a heat stroke. The reason why staying hydrated is so important and an essential tool for survival is because drinking water will cool you down and lower your core temperature.
Do you know the symptoms of mild dehydration? If you have mild dehydration, you’ll experience the following symptoms:
* Decreased frequency of urine
* Deep color and strong odor in urine
* Lack of saliva
* Decreased output of urine
How about the moderate symptoms of dehydration? They are the following:
* Dry mouth
* Dry and sunken eyes
* Fast heartbeat
* Even less urine
Lastly, what are the symptoms of severe dehydration? They are the following:
* Vomiting and diarrhea
* No urine
* Irritability
It’s interesting to mention that the final stage of dehydration is shock, which is often described as having blue-gray skin that is cold to the human touch, which occurs when there is a severe drop in blood pressure.
So you may be wondering how long a person can survive without water. Before I answer this question, the basic assumption here is that the person is in reasonable shape and in ideal conditions. That person can most likely survive between 3-5 days without any water. A healthier person might be able to survive maybe another day or so.
After reading this article, my hope is that you realize the importance of consistently drinking water throughout your day. If you find yourself in an emergency situation, having survival water or a filtration bottle will make the difference between life or death. If you find yourself in a situation where you are not prepared, then another effective method of surviving and preventing dehydration is by purifying water.
