Why can dehydration be particularly dangerous for diabetics?

Veröffentlicht am: August 01, 2024
Dr. med. Wolfgang Bachmann
Dr. med. Wolfgang Bachmann

General practitioner

Do you or someone you know suffer from diabetes? Then you should take extra care now.

Living with diabetes comes with many obstacles - that's nothing new. However, in addition to the everyday challenges, the hot season also harbors other risks that you should not ignore!

Did you know that diabetics have an increased risk of organ damage due to a lack of fluids?

Now that summer is in full swing, it is important that you understand how a lack of fluids affects the body of diabetics. What measures are available to you? And how can you avoid hospitalization and organ damage? You can find out this and more here.

Take the first symptoms of dehydration seriously!

  • Thirst
  • Headache
  • Dry mouth and eyes
  • Dizziness
  • Tiredness
  • Dark yellow colored urine

➤ A lack of water has direct consequences!

The body needs water to live

The human body consists of 60-70% water, which is stored in all cells, organs and tissues. All bodily functions are maintained with the help of the stored water.

However, we are constantly losing water, whether through breathing, digestion or sweating. Even our organs such as the kidneys and liver need water to function. For example, they flush any waste products out of our body.

 

If the body gets enough water from outside (we drink), this is not a problem.

However, if the body receives too little water due to insufficient fluid intake, high temperatures or strenuous exercise, it becomes dehydrated. Other factors such as diarrhea and vomiting, alcohol consumption and, above all, high blood sugar also play their part.

If our water balance is poor, our body no longer functions properly and puts its functions on the back burner.

What is the connection between high blood sugar and poor water balance?

Sugar: the beginning of a vicious circle

Sugar causes problems, as diabetics know all too well. But how does blood sugar cause our water balance to go off the rails?

Diabetics in particular have problems with sugar due to the insufficient function of insulin. This is because it does not reach its actual destination: the cells, but remains in the blood.

To remove the excess sugar from the blood, the body activates the kidneys. The more sugar there is in the blood, the harder they work. The kidneys try to flush out some of the excess blood sugar using the stored water in the blood. This causes us to lose water and the body needs to replenish its water stores as soon as possible. We become thirsty.

However, if the body does not get any water from outside, it gets the water it needs from saliva, tears and even from the body's cells.

The loss of water causes the blood sugar level to rise again and even more water is removed from the blood to flush out the sugar - the vicious circle begins and the body becomes dehydrated.

As a result, the body finds it increasingly difficult to pass on important nutrients and break down waste products or glucose.

The loss of water can become dangerous for diabetics after just a few hours, as the kidneys can fail due to the hard work and cause damage.

 

➤ Drinking a lot protects your kidneys!

Take the self-test - are you drinking enough?

Self-test - back of the hand

1) Back of the hand: Pull the skin on the back of your hand slightly upwards with your thumb and index finger. If this wrinkle remains after you let go or only slowly retracts, there is an acute lack of water!

Self-test - urine color

2) Urine color: You can also take a close look at your urine. What color is it? Ideally, it should be very light in color. However, if it is yellow to dark yellow instead, this is also a warning sign!

What you should look out for

Drink enough water, especially when it's hot! But drinking alone is not enough, you also need to "eat" your water. Green leafy vegetables in particular provide you with water that reaches the body's cells.

A good fluid intake therefore plays an important role in the body's blood sugar regulation and reduces the risk of insulin resistance.

If you drink enough, you ensure good kidney function and good storage of water in your body cells. This keeps your bodily functions running smoothly and prevents organ damage that can be caused by a lack of fluids.

 

 

Sources (in English):

Trikkalinour, A., Papazafiropoulou, A. K. & Melidonis, A. (2017, April). Type 2 diabetes and quality of life. World Journal of Diabetes, 8(4): 120–129, doi: 10.4239/wjd.v8.i4.120

Marin-Penalver, J. J., Martin-Timon, I., Sevillano-Collantes, C. & Del Canizo-Gomez, F. J. (2016, September). Update on the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. World Journal of Diabetes, 7(17): 354–395, doi: 10.4239/wjd.v7.i17.354

Roussel, R., Fezeu, L, Bouby, N., Balkau, B, Lantieri, Ol, Alhenc-Gelas, F. et al. (2011, November). Low Water Intake and Risk for New-Onset Hyperglycemia. Diabetes Care, 34(12): 2551–2554, doi: 10.2337/dc11-0652

Xu, J., Murphy, S., Kochanek, K. & Arias, E. (2016, December). Mortality in the United States, 2015. National Center for Health Statistics, NCHS Data Brief No. 267

Diabetes.co.uk, Dehydration and Diabetes, Verfügbar unter: [https://www.diabetes.co.uk/dehydration-and-diabetes.html]

Stokes, A. & Preston, S. H. (2017, January). Deaths Attributable do Diabetes in the United States: Comparison of Data Sources and Estimation Approaches. PLOS One, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170219