Hi.
What happen's if you eat a little but don't drink anything atall? will this damage you?

Hi there,

Yes it will damage you if you do not drink. Everyone needs to drink every day otherwise you become dehydrated and become very ill. You can go without food for quite a few weeks but not water. If you stop drinking you get ill quite fast.

some info -

Some of these mild dehydration effects are often, but not limited to:

* Thirst
* Loss of appetite
* Dry skin
* Flushing
* Dark colored urine
* Dry mouth / Cotton mouth
* Fatigue / Weakness
* Chills
* Head rushes

If the dehydration is allowed to continue, when the body experiences fluid loss of 5% the following more severe dehydration effects are normally experienced:

* Increased heart rate
* Increased respiration
* Decreased sweating
* Decreased urination
* Increased body temperature
* Extreme fatigue
* Muscle cramps
* Headaches
* Nausea
* Tingling of the limbs

When the body reaches 10% fluid loss emergency help is needed IMMEDIATELY! This level of fluid loss is often fatal! The effects of severe dehydration include:

* Muscle spasms
* Vomiting
* Racing pulse
* Shriveled skin
* Dim vision
* Painful urination
* Confusion
* Difficulty breathing
* Seizures
* Chest and Abdominal pain
* Unconciousness

Be aware that these are not the only effects caused by dehydration, these are simply the most common. Effects of dehydration will differ from person to person because the body is a complex network of systems and everyone is unique. When these systems are disturbed due to loss of fluids there will be several common effects shared by most bodies, but there may also be unusual or unexpected responses depending on the particular person in question. Age also plays a part in the type of effects experienced due to dehydration. Effects of dehydration in a child will not be the same as those experienced by a teenager, adult or in the elderly. Dehydration prevention is the best treatment for every age group.

as stated the above are common symptoms but there are a lot more, you need water (which is contained in some juices, but water itself is best) even just to breathe! not getting enough water, as well as the above, will lead to microscopic cell damage, will kill you in quite a nasty way (think intense pain and delerious babbling of the most embarassing kind) followed of course by death.

how quickly you die depends on several things, commonly people will say about 3 days is how long you can live but going by what iv looked at if a person is in good shape they may live for between 8 and 14 days, but thats pretty much it.

and lastly - getting severe dehydration, if you live, can leave you with a lot of permanent and often painful life long health problems.

moral of the story? drink plenty fluids! preferably 2 litres of water every day, you will feel much better.

Is there a particular reason why you are not drinking?

To be ill.
Just wanted to make sure that it even works

Well yeah it will work. But it won't be pretty. It'll be seriously painful and you will end up dying or with serious damage to your body. Things might seem bad now but trust me, they are going to get worse if you keep this up. Can you not try talking to someone instead? You don't have anything to lose. I don't think you want to die, i think you want a way out. If you want to talk to me then my email address is attached to this or you can phone me on 01382 206222. Think about it. Take care. Katy.

Hi there,

I hope that by the time you're reading this you will have at least considered seeking help from Katy or someone else you may feel comfortable talking to. The folk at 18u are great and really would just be there as a listening ear and support you in whatever may be making you feel like you should make yourself ill.

The human body is so clever and can adapt to a whole range of circumstances. Although you may initially be restricting your fluid intake, the body doesn't cope very well without water ( see all the symptoms of dehydration above!) and so it does everything it can to correct this.

When the body loses water, the level of salt rises in the blood. This signals the brain to make you feel thirsty.(Thirst is the body’s mechanism to increase water consumption in response to lower levels of body fluid) You'll also sweat and pass urine less frequently as a result of the body's attempt to conserve water!

Please do consider talking to someone, you've taken the first step already by accessing the site!

Laura

and by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated lol!