Dehydration

Symptoms:

• excessive loss of fluid through vomiting or excessive, urine, stools or sweating
• poor intake of fluids
• sunken eyes
• markedly sunken fontanelles in an infant
• dry or sticky mucus membranes in the mouth
• the skin may lack its normal elasticity and sag back into position slowly when pinched up into a fold (poor skin turgor)
• decreased or absent urine output (oliguria or anuria)
• decreased tears

Signs and tests:

Physical examination may also show signs of:

• low blood pressure (hypotension)
• rapid heart rate (tachycardia)
• shock

Tests include:

• blood chemistries (to check electrolytes, especially carbon dioxide)
• urine specific gravity
• BUN
• creatinine

Other tests may be done to determine the specific cause of the dehydration (for example, a blood sugar to check for diabetes).