this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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I mean, I've heard that you can typically only survive about three days without water, but what exactly causes your body to fail when you dehydrate too much?

I guess one point is lack of salts (if you sweat a lot) but I'm specifically wondering about lack of water (although a closer explanation about how lack of salts will kill you is also appreciated)

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[–] insomniac@vlemmy.net 8 points 1 year ago

Your bladder and kidneys need water to function. Initially, your kidneys slow sending water to your bladder which is why your pee turns dark. Then you start losing water in your blood to keep organs functioning but the decrease in blood volume causes your blood pressure to drop. This makes pumping blood increasingly difficult for your heart so your body will start sending less blood to your organs. This starts damaging all your organs and eventually your kidneys stop filtering your blood. Toxins build up in your brain that’s already not getting enough blood and eventually shuts down and you die.

[–] Foggyfroggy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

As water level decreases, the total amount of sodium stays the same. So, essentially it is increasing in concentration. Too much salt interferes with heart cells’ ability to contract together. So less water = more salt = less heart coordination.

Cardiac arrhythmia due to hypernatremia and hypovolumenia can be fatal. There are many changes that occur, but the effect on the heart will kill ya.

[–] PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.com -3 points 1 year ago

This was the response I got from Perplexity.ai.

The tl;dr is from there, too:

Dehydration can lead to death through mechanisms such as organ failure, blood thickening and reduced blood pressure, electrolyte imbalance, brain swelling, shock, and build-up of cellular waste.

Electrolyte imbalances and upset balance of salts and sugar can cause impaired cellular function, heart problems, neurological issues, kidney damage, and shock, ultimately leading to death.

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