hydration suggestions

lovemyfamily

Hi! I just want to start with a sincere thank you for all of you who put out questions many are afraid to ask and also those of you willing to share your wisdom. Here is my question, my mother tends to sleep late, the last few days a little later than usual. I am very concerned that she is getting dehydrated or at risk for dehydration because she is only up about 10-12 hours each day. Some days we use pedialyte, what other strategies have you found to get the necessary fluids in...it can be in the form of food too. I know iceberg lettuce was recommended but I haven't been consistent with this in our diet. Thank you!

lqadams

I was having trouble keeping my husband hydrated. I started giving him a couple non-alcoholic beers per day. I buy good quality beer like St. Paulie Girl, Kaliper and Clausthaler. My husband enjoys it and does not realize it is non-alcoholic beer.

Jerome Likes Pie

We experienced the hydration issue also and found that flavored Propel and zero calorie Vitamin Water went down easier than drinking tap or bottled water.  Plus they have electrolytes and some nutrients.

LicketyGlitz

We've had this problem too, csf. We just kept trying different drinks until we found one she liked. And those tastes kept changing. At one point it was apple juice. Then orange juice. Gatorade was a consistent fav. Luckily in the summer there are tons of fruits with high water content so start adding those in if she likes them...

https://ontarioequestrian.ca/hydrate-your-body-with-high-water-content-fruits-and-vegetables/

There are also Jelly Drops for hydration, but I'm not sure they are available in the states yet: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/jelly-drops-sweets-tackle-dehydration-dementia

Although there may be a similar product in north America to search on.

We never completely cured the dehydration but the tricks above (except for Jelly Drops which we never tried) helped us and Mom out!

Good luck!

zauberflote

MIL could be tempted by popsicles and sherbet. Mom was a sucker for cranberry juice.

Sjodry

Hi csfbeachski,

I buy all different flavors of Mio juice (flavorings that are added to water). There are other brands like crystal light, etc. My mom’s favorite is the Strawberry Kiwi, but pomegranate is also tasty. We call them whatever color they are (pink drink, purple drink, yellow drink). My mom had a serious Pepsi addiction when she fell and re-broke her hip a year ago. In an effort to help her healing, I tried to start having her drink water. She hated it. Since her tastes strongly favor sweets these days, I found these water flavor additives. She can’t drink enough. Yes, they are sweet, but do keep her hydrated.

Good luck.

Sandy

Cynbar

I find that it takes a variety of very cold drinks to get my DH to drink enough. I have several juices, flavored waters, ginger ale and club soda, and the sweet drinks like lemonade, limeade, fruit punch and so on. Sherbets and popsicles are popular in the summer, soup in the colder months. He'll drink cold water sometimes but not reliably. It's anyone's guess which one he'll be in the mood for on a given day --- and the whole process is exhausting, frankly --- but it does seem to be reasonably effective.

AmyWA

I just found Protein2O. Comes in 4 flavors and is really good.

Emily 123

Lime Gatorade’s a favorite, and she seems to drink more if I leave it in the bottle but give her a straw. It’s an uphill battle as she uses Depends, and doesn’t want to hydrate.

RanchersWife

I started very early in this journey monitoring water intake We have a routine and she doesn’t fight me on it. If she starts to balk at drinking her water I remind her that she will end up in the hospital if she doesn’t drink. It’s true and her biggest fear. Water is so important against stroke, UTI, constipation, diabetes, kidney function, ...all the issue we deal with. There is no room to leave it to her. Maybe someday she will refuse but right now she doesn’t have the stamina to outlast me in this issue.