Contrary to conventional wisdom, a young athlete's need to stay hydrated is a constant regardless of the sports season, Kids can become dehydrated whatever and whenever they play sports, regardless of the temperature or relative humidity.
Though the calendar may say it's spring or autumn, it may be hot in many parts of the country, and with continued heat and humidity comes the ever present risk of dehydration. Even as the sports season moves towards Halloween and Thanksgiving and the weather turns colder, dehydration remains a constant threat. Indeed, a recent study showed that cold weather [1] actually alters the thirst sensation. When athletes don't feel as thirsty, they don't drink as much fluids, and this can cause dehydration.
With these points in mind, here are some things parents should know about dehydration in sports:
How to know if your child is dehydrated? Here are the signs to look for:
The following are signs that your child is severely dehydrated:
The progressive effects of dehydration are serious. As a child becomes dehydrated, heart rate increases, blood flow to the skin decreases, and a body temperature can rise steadily to dangerous levels. To avoid a potentially life-threatening medical emergency, parents and coaches need to be familiar with the symptoms of and treatment for heat-related illnesses.
To keep from becoming dehydrated, parents need to make sure young athletes drink fluids before, during and after [3] exercise, preferably on a schedule. To promote fluid intake in kids, fluids containing sodium (i.e. sports drinks [4]) have been shown to increase voluntary drinking by 90% and prevent dehydration better than drinking plain water.
Brooke de Lench is Founding Executive Director of MomsTEAM Institute, Inc., Director of Smart Teams Play Safe, Publisher of MomsTEAM.com, author of Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports (HarperCollins), and Producer/Director/Creator of the PBS documentary, "The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer." Brooke is also a founding member of the UN International Safeguards of Children in Sports coalition.
She can be reached by email delench@MomsTeam.com [5], and you can follow her on Twitter @brookedelench.
Links:
[1] https://www.momsteam.com/node/273
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/node/874
[3] https://www.momsteam.com/node/864
[4] https://www.momsteam.com/node/280
[5] mailto:delench@MomsTeam.com
[6] https://www.momsteam.com/users/drsusan
[7] https://www.momsteam.com/nutrition/sports-hydration/fluid-guidelines/kids-drink-before-during-after-sports-on-schedule
[8] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/child-hydration-status-several-factors-at-play
[9] https://www.momsteam.com/nutrition/weight-loss-dark-urine-thirst-three-main-signs-athlete-is-dehydrated