Case file 5: Dehydration

I am completely shagged today after climbing Bt. Timah Hill Nature Reserve, for Geography Project in case you wondering. And i was completely freaked out by this tombstone-look-a-like-stone which we saw somewhere on the hill:


haha my initials can!!! (Michelle Chia)

Anyway.. back to biology.. i'm soo sorry Kelly i did not understand your post. Btw, I was like completely dehydrated today so I shall do a post on what happens when someone experiences water deficiency, or rather just dehydration. (simple!! won't kill my precious brain cells) =)

Dehydration can be caused by two reasons. (at least). One simple and one complicated. The easy one first: failing to drink enough water on a daily basis. duh. The complicated one: Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) deficiency. (and i thot this would be simple. well at least it is 'unknown'). A deficiency results in dehydration because the EFA actually keeps your cells tightly knit together. Hence, when there is a deficiency, the cells are 'loose' and water and fluids are able to escape. Thus, a person suffering from EFA will still be dehydrated even though sufficient amout of water is consumed. See that adds to another reason why people should not avoid fats so much.

So what really happens when we get dehydrated?? If you have no access to water for.. erm.. bout 1 - 2 days or maybe 3 (somewhere around there), u die. Yes, its more important than food, btw i know most of you know this already. However, before this happens, your brain cells shrink and you unable to think properly. In severe dehydration, you start seeing things as the shrunken brain cells are unable to help you think straight. That's why you must be properly hydrated before a test. And the rule of not being allowed to drink water during lesson is completely stupid, since it helps us think better!!! Out in the open sea, being dehydrated increases the feeling of seasick, or so according to the OBS instructors. Heatstroke is also a likely result. In more scientific terms, rigidity of the connective tissue (vascular system and lungs) and intracellular fluid loss to the extracellular spaces, resulting in dry mucous membranes, shrunken muscle cells in the lips and the tongue, soft eyes, and adverse effects to the central nervous system will occur. Something more superficial and for the girls, dehydration causes your complexion to be dull. So get enough water yeah!

However, in many poor countries, access to potable water or even water itself is difficult. Hence, UNICEF has stageed an enormous program to improve children's health conditions in the develping contries.


A photo of a sufferer of dehydration. This is really sad and we should all be thankful for having enough water to drink everyday.

Special thx to these links =):
http://www.fredacare.com/health.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1507931&dopt=Abstract

By: Michelle Chia (28) aka Professor Chia (still not comfortable with it!)