How Does Soda Dehydrate the Body?

Nurses General Nursing

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I was speaking to a nurse whose brother had a 'borderline' creatinine level. Her brother told her that the nurse told him that he drinks alot of soda, and that probably dehydrated him slightly. We were trying to debate this, and from my deduction, it may be that his sugar was elevated.

Anyone have an answer to this? Thanks!

Personally, I blame the bubbles. :idea:

Specializes in Did the job hop, now in MS. Not Bad!!!!!.
Personally, I blame the bubbles. :idea:

Silly, that's just what makes you gassy!!! LOL. :brnfrt::omy:

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I do believe it has an osmotic effect, somehow. This turned out to be an interesting thread, huh? I still crave for my Gatorade, increased sodium or not!

Specializes in Did the job hop, now in MS. Not Bad!!!!!.

Curious...when we become dehydrated from water waste (e.g. exercise) we reach for an electrolyte drink such as Gatorade, Powerade, etc...because they are hypertonic. This is supposed to cause us to retain teh fluids, but there is still so much thirst that accompanies it...Hmmm...I'm downing one now and it's causing me to go broke b/c I go through them so fast.

But if we're retaining fluids due to the hypertonicity, why the thirst? And why when I drink too much water from and get water intoxication am I told to stop drinking b/c I"m only flushing out my sodium? I had some very bad side effects to anti-depressants a few years ago that had me in serious water toxicity b/c I was guzzling down gallons of water a day due to such dehydration. My tongue was furrowed like a dried out river bed, and I couldnt' form enough spit to talk. I was having memory issues and chronic fatigue.

Gatorade saved my butt!! Point is, I was incredibly dehydrated and parched to boot. It took the hypertonic fluids to salvage my 'lytes. But the label on the back of my currentl water beverage by Kirkland says Zero Sodium and it's making me thirsty.

Huh?

Am I fooling myself thinking it's helping?

Specializes in Staff nurse.
coma or no coma .. ill take my dr pepper iv or you can insert a g tube. lol

thank you!! i hadn't considered the g tube before, but have told my coworkers to just iv it if i am a pt.

You can have my Coke when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers :stone

Ah little Jack Daniels in tht coke will kepp your fingars warm...

after a 35 yr habit, i gave up drinking tonic, as a new yr's eve resolution.

i think i started out with tab.

and it was always diet tonic from the time i turned 13.

what i can tell you, is it does nothing for one's thirst.

a rd told me the phosphates soften bones.

and i noticed both types are laden w/k+, never mind all the nacl.

anyway, i've been guzzling down flavored waters, and i've lost 5 lbs since jan 1.

and i feel better.

one of my better decisions, for sure.

leslie

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