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The dry season already here, and is expected to stay until the end of September due to the south-west monsoon season. At times like this, we would all want to stay indoors with our air-conditioners switched on. Unfortunately, many of us still need to go out under the hot sun for work or other reasons, and when we are so busy, many will forget to do something very important - drink water!

The danger of not drinking enough water is dehydration. Dehydration means the loss of water and salts from our body. These water and salts are very important because it helps cool down your body and also maintain your bodily functions. Severe cases of dehydration can even lead to death.

When your body is dehydrated, you will feel tired, your skin may become dry or you might feel dizzy and get cramps, but those are only the lighter symptoms of dehydration. When it gets worse, one may even start behaving irrationally or get heat strokes.

If you suffer from any of the symptoms above, please drink some water. Another way of finding out if you are dehydrated is by checking the volume and colour of your urine. If your urine is dark yellow or you have less urine than usual, start drinking more water.

Dehydration can also affect our cognitive abilities, so students, or anyone whose work requires them to think will need to pay extra attention to their water intake. Even if you are not standing under the hot sun, you will still need to take enough water. Children and older people are also more susceptible to the heat, so please make sure they are getting the water they need.

Another important thing to note is that water cannot be replaced by other drinks such as coffee, juice or soft drinks. These drinks may contain water, but many also have dehydrating ingredients in them. Besides, since you will be drinking a lot more, you would risk putting on weight. Sports drinks are fine because they have the extra benefit of replacing minerals lost when sweating, but the best is still the 0 calorie water.

Under normal conditions, it is sufficient to drink water whenever we feel thirsty. However, when the weather is this hot, it would be safer if we drink before we get thirsty. You should be careful so you avoid drinking large amounts of water at once, as it would lead to hyponatremia.

Getting sick feels terrible, getting sick in such a hot weather is even worse! Take care of your own water intake to stay healthy. Take regular sips throughout the day and bring more water with you if you plan on going out, then you will be fine. If you are a parent, make sure you take care of your children’s water intake, too.


NAH KOK WAI is research and policy executive, Forum Air Malaysia.

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