Beware of severe dehydration

One of the most harrowing experiences that happened to me last year was a severe case of food poisoning.  To this day, when I go into a rewind mode of the events that night, I fall to my knees in prayer and thanksgiving for my earthly and heavenly guardian angels who took care of me that fateful (or near fatal?) night.  I never wanted to write about it till today, so as not to relive that horrific ordeal), but I feel I must share it with you so you can be careful of what they eat!

How It Happened

During the cocktail portion of an event,  I had a non- alcoholic drink with some chips.  At 8:30 p.m., my friends and I were hungry and the fashion show had not yet started.  There was a buffet laden with dinner food, but the waiter said they were not opening the buffet till after the show.  Some dishes had Saran wrap on top of them, some were exposed, some were inside hot plates.  At 10 p.m., after the show, we were literally starving so we decided to partake of the buffet instead of going elsewhere to eat.  I had some blinis with caviar from the cold food section and some creamy pasta from the hot food section.  I don’t remember what else I stuffed in my mouth while lining up for the buffet — I must have been really hungry to do that.  I was so hungry to even think that air-borne bacteria could have festered on those dishes as they must have been prepared and laid out on that buffet table as early as 4 p.m. as caterers are wont to do and we were eating only six hours after the food had been laid out.  

One hour after I got home, I felt nauseous and had painful stomach spasms.  Soon, I was running to my bathroom and the ordeal started. There was not a minute when I wasn’t emptying my gut out in more ways than one.  If I was not on the throne, I was emptying on the sink. I was in this state for at least three hours. Feeling that the  last debris had left my gut, I limped to my bed to lie down as I was feeling weak. I had severe cramps because I was completely devoid of electrolytes, but I didn’t dare drink anything for fear of vomiting it out. At 4 a.m.,  my houseguests, whom I consider my earthly guardian angels in this ordeal, arrived from their round of clubbing and hearing my TV still on, decided to say goodnight.  I told them of my ordeal and immediately, they ran to the nearby 7-11 store and got me Gatorade and bottled water.  They forced me to drink both, no matter how slowly, to restore the electrolytes that I lost.  They also gave me leg massage to bring back the circulation in my legs and soon, my leg cramps disappeared. Because I didn’t want to go to the hospital, one of them stayed in my room till I fell asleep.  

Seeking Medical Help

The next day, they accompanied me to Dr. Marisa Torre, my family’s homeopathic/integrative doctor who gave me a cocktail of vitamins, trace minerals and amino acids for cellular nutrition through an intravenous infusion.  She also injected on my stomach “nux vomica,” a homeopathic remedy  which is used for diseases of the stomach and intestines.

Dr. Torre checked my eyes and mouth and diagnosed my dehydration as moderate. She said my lips were chapped and my mouth was dry.  She was happy to note that I was not dizzy or feeling faint. She gave me some pedialytes and advised me to drink a lot of water and juice.  

Here are the symptoms of dehydration in adults:

• Moderately dehydrated person has increased thirst, dry mouth and swollen tongue, weakness, dizziness, mild palpitations, inability to sweat, decreased urine output, sluggishness, deep yellow urine.  

• For severe dehydration, a person could be in a state of confusion, has not urinated in the last 12 hours, has seizures, headaches, chest or abdominal pains, difficulty in breathing, fever of 103°F, palpitations, feels dizzy and faint after standing up, among other symptoms.  

A severely dehydrated person should seek medical help as soon as possible, go to a hospital and get the necessary medical treatment prescribed by the doctor.  Severe dehydration could be fatal as it could shut down the internal organs. 

Home Remedies

For mild and moderately dehydrated persons, do some home remedies: Drink electrolyte-containing drinks such as Gatorade, Pocari, pedialytes; suck on popsicles and ice chips; drink a lot of liquids; and rest.  

Here’s how to prevent dehydration: 

1. Anticipate the need for increased fluid intake: Take extra water if you know you will do some outdoor activity.  

2. Avoid exercise and exposure during very hot days.

3. Avoid alcohol consumption especially during hot days as alcohol increases water loss.

— Source: Web MD;  for inquiries, call Dr. Marisa Torre, homeopathic doctor, at 553-7289/508-6440