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Dehydration Symptoms

Dehydration Symptoms
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Updated on October 23, 2024
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Dehydration is what happens when there is insufficient water in your body. It occurs when you lose more fluid and electrolytes than you’re taking in. All your body’s cells, tissues, and organs need water to function, so when your body doesn’t get enough water, it stops functioning as it should.

 This causes a range of symptoms, including dark pee, headaches, and muscle cramps. Read on to learn more about the symptoms of dehydration, potential complications, and when to see a doctor.

Symptoms of Dehydration

Dehydration symptoms can be mild, moderate, or severe. Severe dehydration can be life-threatening.

 Signs and symptoms of dehydration in adults and children are also slightly different from those in babies.

Dehydration Symptoms in Adults

Mild to moderate dehydration symptoms in adults include:

  • Being very thirsty
  • Not peeing much
  • Dry mouth and dry lips
  • Dry skin
  • Dark-yellow pee
  • Headache
  • Muscle cramps
Severe dehydration is a medical emergency and can be life-threatening.

 Severe symptoms of dehydration include:

  • Not peeing at all
  • Strong-smelling pee that’s very dark or amber in color
  • Irritability or confusion
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • A fast heart rate
  • Breathing fast
  • Sunken eyes
  • Fatigue and lack of energy
  • Delirium (not being able to pay attention or think properly)
  • Loss of consciousness

Dehydration Symptoms in Babies

Babies and very young children are at a higher risk of dehydration. This is because their metabolism is faster so they process fluids more quickly, they lose more fluids over time, and it’s harder for them to communicate that they’re thirsty or dehydrated.

Symptoms of dehydration in babies include:

  • The soft spot on top of their head (called a fontanel) is sunken
  • Sunken eyes
  • Few or no tears when they cry
  • Few wet diapers, or none in 8 hours (for toddlers)
  • Unusual drowsiness or irritability
  • Cold, blotchy hands and feet
  • Dry, wrinkled skin

Potential Complications of Dehydration

Untreated dehydration can cause:

  • Shock (when not enough blood is flowing through your body)
  • Seizures
  • Brain damage
  • Coma
  • Death

When to See a Doctor

There are many things you can do to relieve dehydration, including drinking water or sports drinks with added electrolytes, or taking oral rehydration solutions. Your pharmacist can also help.

That said, if you or someone you’re caring for experiences any of these signs and symptoms, seek emergency care:

  • Loss of consciousness
  • Confusion or seizures
  • Signs of heatstroke (a fever of over 102 degrees F [38.8 degrees C])
  • Rapid heartbeat or rapid breathing
  • Symptoms don’t get better or get worse even with treatment

The Takeaway

Mild to moderate dehydration is easy enough to prevent and treat, but severe dehydration can be a medical emergency. Telltale signs of dehydration include thirst, dry skin, darker colored urine, muscle cramps, and lack of energy. If you have these symptoms, try drinking water or drinks with added electrolytes, and see if they improve. Your local pharmacist can also help. If you have signs of severe dehydration, seek medical help right away.

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Grant Chu, MD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Grant Chu, MD, is an assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Chu is also the associate director of education at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, using technology to further medical education.

He is board-certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a diplomate of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

He received a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Brown University, where he also earned his medical degree. He has a master's in acupuncture and oriental medicine from South Baylo University and a master's in business administration from the University of Illinois. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles and a fellowship at the Center for East-West Medicine at UCLA.

He has held academic appointments at the University of California in Irvine and the University of Queensland in Australia.

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Ana is a freelance medical copywriter, editor, and health journalist with a decade of experience in content creation. She loves to dive deep into the research and emerge with engaging and informative content everyone can understand. Her strength is combining scientific rigor with empathy and sensitivity, using conscious, people-first language without compromising accuracy.

Previously, she worked as a news editor for Medical News Today and Healthline Media. Her work as a health journalist has reached millions of readers, and her in-depth reporting has been cited in multiple peer-reviewed journals. As a medical copywriter, Ana has worked with award-winning digital agencies to implement marketing strategies for high-profile stakeholders. She’s passionate about health equity journalism, having conceived, written, and edited features that expose health disparities related to race, gender, and other social determinants of health.

Outside of work, she loves dancing, taking analog photos, and binge-watching all the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchises.

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Resources
  1. Dehydration. MedlinePlus. August 2023.
  2. Hydrating for Health. NIH News in Health. May 2023.
  3. Dehydration. NHS. November 2022.
  4. Daley SF et al. Dehydration. StatPearls. June 2024.
  5. Dehydration. Cleveland Clinic. June 2023.