![\"GP](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5098083_3_articleinline_01KSJ62J4GKHCMVGTVW3ABYJBD.jpg\" "\\"GP")
GP Hugh Coyne: \u201cIt\u2019s quite common, even with relatively subtle dehydration, to get a headache,\u201d Picture: Alamy<\/p>\nWith temperatures hitting record highs in parts of the country, it\u2019s important that staying hydrated doesn\u2019t slip down the priority list.<\/p>\n
Dehydration is very common during heatwaves, and can range from mild to severe, explains Dr Naveed Asif, a general practitioner.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us are probably mildly dehydrated the majority of the time and experience things like a dry mouth, dry lips, and dry eyes,\u201d says Asif.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, once it goes into moderate, that means it\u2019s beginning to impact you more, and then we have the more severe side where you can become significantly unwell with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, if you\u2019ve got pre-existing medical conditions, even if they\u2019re mild, dehydration can exacerbate them and make those symptoms significantly more uncontrolled.\u201d<\/p>\n
While thirst and a dry mouth are widely recognised signs of dehydration, several more subtle and surprising symptoms can also signal that your body needs more fluids.<\/p>\n
Here are six more unexpected signs to look out for:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people get quite dehydrated, they might get a bit restless or irritable,\u201d says GP Hugh Coyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is because the brain is really sensitive to our level of hydration. People might notice that they feel a little bit more tense and agitated when they wake up on a hot morning, and they really want to have a drink of water straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe body is full of water and electrolytes \u2014 the salts that make body function and muscles work. If they\u2019re not diluted by water and are too concentrated, because you\u2019ve not drunk enough water, that can cause flare-ups of cramping and tingling in your body,\u201d explains Asif.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means that the nerves that control the muscles aren\u2019t working as efficiently, and often the muscles begin to seize up, because they just can\u2019t function.\u201d<\/p>\n
GP Hugh Coyne: \u201cIt\u2019s quite common, even with relatively subtle dehydration, to get a headache,\u201d Picture: Alamy<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite common, even with relatively subtle dehydration, to get a headache,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen our total body water goes down, the brain becomes a little bit dehydrated and you can get a transient shrinkage of the brain tissue where it becomes not as plump as it normally is. That can cause a little bit of tension and traction on the meninges, which is the lining of the brain, along with a little bit of decreased blood flow to the brain and a little bit of increased pain sensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that we also look at is something called skin turgor, which is the elasticity of the skin,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we suspect people are dehydrated, we take a gentle pinch of the skin, usually on the back of a patient\u2019s hand, and then let it relax.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn healthy, well-hydrated skin, we see that the elasticity of the skin is retained and bounces back quickly, but when people are a little bit dehydrated, that takes a while to settle down.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, this can be difficult to see in older adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cSigns of dehydration are often not quite as obvious in older adults, particularly with skin turgor, because they tend to lose that skin elasticity that younger people have naturally over time,\u201d explains Coyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cFatigue, tiredness and lethargy are also common early signs of dehydration,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat feeling that you need to plonk down on a sofa indicates that you might be inadequately hydrated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople might notice that their heart rate is a bit elevated when they are dehydrated,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n
The heart rate increases when we are dehydrated and have relatively low total body fluid, as the body works to maintain blood pressure and blood flow to key organs, he explains.<\/p>\n
Asif adds: \u201cThe body also releases additional stress hormones, such as adrenaline, endorphins, and cortisol, to try and speed up the heart and speed up the process to increase delivery of vital blood and the associated salts and fluids to our vital muscles and organs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf dehydration worsens, it can lead to very severe illness, such as heat stroke or exertional heat stroke, which is very severe and has high mortality rates,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, it\u2019s very important that dehydration is addressed and is prevented in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Significant mental changes should be checked out by a doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny signs of altered mental status, such as confusion or agitation, slurred speech and loss of consciousness, require emergency help because they\u2019re characteristic features of heat stroke,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n
He advises that higher-risk groups should be extra cautious and seek help at a lower threshold.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertain population groups, such as infants and older people, have a lower threshold for seeking medical attention because when these two groups are affected, the symptoms can be a little bit more subtle or difficult to discern,\u201d says Coyne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With temperatures hitting record highs in parts of the country, it\u2019s important that staying hydrated doesn\u2019t slip down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[33970,103,61,60],"class_list":["post-472336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health-body","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}