How Your Body Loses Water
More Articles Related to WaterHow long you can survive without water depends upon a number of factors. They all boil down to one thing: how the body loses water and what you can do to prevent that water loss.
The average sedentary person in the course of a day loses about a pint of water while breathing, a pint of water through invisible perspiration, and 1.5 quarts through elimination.
In theory then, the amount of water you need to survive is only one-half gallon per day. However active survivors are not sedentary and are often in stressful environments. This means they are probably losing greater amounts water, water that needs to be replaced in order to survive.
But water loss goes deeper than survival; it also affects your efficiency. Losing just one quart of water from your body’s stores will adversely affect your mental and physical abilities. As a survival expert, you need to keep yourself at optimum performance levels. Staying hydrated is therefore an important priority at all times.
Things that determine how long you can live without water and some of the ways your body loses water include:
- Your state of dehydration to begin with. Obviously if you begin with a water deficit then you are not going to survive for as long as someone who is fully tanked up right from the beginning. You should do your best to stay hydrated at all times, even if this means drinking water before you feel thirsty.
- The temperature of your environment. Usually the hotter the temperature the more water you will need to consume in order to replace losses from sweating and respiration. However the air in cold environments can be as dry as the driest desert and therefore cause rapid water loss through your skin and as you breathe.
- High humidity. When the humidity is high your sweat will not evaporate as readily. Because of this you are liable to sweat a great deal as your body attempts to cool itself through evaporation. This water loss must be replaced.
- Low humidity. Very dry environments will rob your body of moisture, especially if there is also wind. The wearing of clothing will help create a layer of humid air around your body and prevent excessive water loss.
- Your level of activity. When you are very active you tend to work up a sweat, which will draw water out of your body for the purpose of evaporation and cooling. You will also loose more water due to heavy breathing than you would if sedentary.
- Exposure to the sun. The suns rays can heat the surface of your skin, causing even more loss of water. Should you become sunburned, your first layer of defense against water loss is rendered inefficient and you will loose water at a faster rate, even under normal conditions. For this reason always bring sunscreen, wear a hat and long-sleeved clothing for protection from the sun.
- Exposure to Wind. Wind has a desiccating effect and will rob moisture directly from your body, especially if it is very hot and dry or cold and dry. To help prevent losing water from your body to the wind be sure to wear clothing, especially some kind of wind breaking fabric.
- Consuming Food. The more you eat the more water you will need to process the food. For this reason you are better off to go hungry if you do not have an adequate supply of water. The exception is if your food consists of juicy fruits or vegetables that provide more water than they require for digestion.
- Consumption of diuretics. Natural diuretics such as coffee and alcohol require large amounts of water for your body to process and eliminate. Diuretics should be avoided when water is scarce.
- Your health. The very young, the old, and the sick are more likely to suffer from the effects of dehydration. If you are vomiting or suffering from diarrhea you will be loosing water at a very fast rate.
You are welcome to share this Survival Topic with others. I only request that you use a short blurb (not the entire survival content) and this code to
link to the origional:
