In Health and Beauty

#ad 9 signs of dehydration and how to prevent it with #healthyhydration and Ozarka water

Author JamiePosted on Leave a comment
There are 9 signs of dehydration. Do you know them? More importantly, do you know how to prevent them?

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I had a dehydration incident a couple of weeks ago that I almost don’t want to talk about on my blog because I don’t want to worry people. But I think it’s important to share what we learn in life so I’ve chosen to share a scary incident regarding dehydration, how water could have prevented it, and how healthy hydration through various sizes of bottled water such as Ozarka and other regional Nestle water brands can help #HealthyHydration no matter where you’re located. This is a sponsored #ad opportunity through #CollectiveBias but not only is everything here my own story, it’s something I’m pretty passionate about. 

Staying hydrated in sickness and in health

A couple weeks ago, we went on a short weekend trip and unfortunately, I got a stomach bug of sorts. I know full well that a person needs to stay hydrated and keep drinking during this but instead of water, I kept ordering diet sodas and tea. Lots of tea.

By Sunday night, we were home and hanging out watching Netflix, as is our weekly tradition. I was still feeling tired, just “out of it” and not focused. I thought “oh, it’s just because I was sick.” Then all the sudden my tongue got thick and numb feeling and my speech was slurred. We quickly ran through the stroke test to determine if we needed to call an ambulance and I was clear on all those points (my smile and face was in full control, no problems with my arms, etc.). John remembered this had happened another time a few years ago and it turned out I was badly dehydrated.

9 Signs of Dehydration: Noticeable Thirst Muscle Cramps Weakness Decreased Performance Nausea Headache Fatigue Lightheaded feeling or dizziness Difficulty paying attention

I had been ignoring the symptoms because I was both busy and already sick. Getting dehydrated just made me more sick. Don’t worry … I’m fine now. We grabbed some of the water bottles we keep on hand and I started drinking. A lot. We did add some electrolytes to the water because I was so severely dehydrated. That wouldn’t have been necessary if I had been drinking the right kinds of fluids all weekend.

Truth is, it’s especially important to stay hydrated when you’re sick. But you know how you can not get sick from dehydration? Stay hydrated! (I know, hello Captain Obvious).

Here’s the thing. Any kind of fluid with caffeine, sweetener (artificial or otherwise), sodium, or other chemicals do not hydrate you. In fact, they pull water from your system and contribute to the dehydration. So all that tea I was drinking? It didn’t have sodium or sweetener (I might be the only southerner who hates sweet tea) but it did have caffeine. Not only was I not adding to my body’s hydration levels I was depleting them.

Drinking enough water is easier with different size water bottles

I’ve heard several opinions on what is enough water in a day. The usual rule of thumb is 64 ounces of water a day but if you are out in heat, severely overweight, or a frequent exerciser your body might need more fluid.

Nestle offers regional brands of water throughout the country and my closest is Ozarka, which is bottled in Texas. Like Nestle Pure Life water, Ozarka comes in a variety of bottle sizes. You can get them as small as 8 ounces or up to a large bottle with a spigot that would be best in your fridge. I’ve heard that Ozarka has a 5 gallon bottle but it’s not available in my Walmart (yet! Here’s hoping).

 

Here's just two of the bottle sizes of Ozarka and other Nestle waters that you can get at Walmart. Talk about easy to find... look for the sign that says "bottled water" hanging from the ceiling.
Here’s just two of the bottle sizes of Ozarka and other Nestle waters that you can get at Walmart. Talk about easy to find… look for the sign that says “bottled water” hanging from the ceiling.

 

They also have larger bottles that would work great for the fridge. This one is 2.5 gallons. A 5-gallon bottle would be great for an office or home. How awesome would it be to get that at the store instead of having to pay a service to deliver it?
They also have larger bottles that would work great for the fridge. This one is 2.5 gallons. A 5-gallon bottle would be great for an office or home. How awesome would it be to get that at the store instead of having to pay a service to deliver?

All the sizes of Ozarka! How do I know what size water bottle to buy?

So remember that 64 ounce requirement? I tend to buy at least a couple different sizes of bottles. The junior (8 ounce) bottles tend to work better for my car because they stay put better in the cup holder.

I already had an extra package of Nestle Pure Life on hand so I didn't need to buy Ozarka. Eight of these would equal the 64 ounces.
I already had an extra package of Nestle Pure Life on hand so I didn’t need to buy Ozarka. Eight of these would equal the 64 ounces.

 

These 16.9 ounce bottles are obviously bigger than the smaller bottles and you only need four to get to the 64 ounces. I prefer to have these with me in my backpack or at my desk while I'm working in my home office.
These 16.9 ounce bottles are obviously bigger than the smaller bottles and you only need four to get to the 64 ounces. I prefer to have these with me in my backpack or at my desk while I’m working in my home office.

 

Healthy for the body, environment

Bottled water is great for anyone, but with the newer BPA-free bottles they are also safe for everyone. I started drinking bottled water more when I didn’t like the municipal water taste of where I was living at the time.

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You might be thinking “but all that plastic!” I got you covered. Don’t forget to recycle your bottles and it’s better for the environment.

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By the way, you can follow Ozarka on social media:

Do you ever struggle to stay hydrated? What do you do to keep hydrated? I hope my scary story encourages you to focus on #healthyhydration!

 

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