Hydration and you.......

Thanks, Dad! ; )

I’m traveling solo and agree with drinking a lot of water. I don’t carry it with me unless I’m on a long train ride, but I do always order the larger water at restaurants. It’s a lot of water for one person, but it forces me to stay hydrated. Otherwise, I can get a headache from being dehydrated.

Good advice.
I am always amazed by how little I need the ladies room for the first few days of a trip.

Excellent advice. It's absolutely vital to drink plenty of water for your overall health every day--and travel adds an additional strain on your body's need for (and use of) this precious fluid.

Thanks Dad! Living in Arizona, we go no where without taking at least one bottle of water, sometimes two, often a small cooler. If hiking, turn around when your water bottle is half empty. If walking more than an hour take two bottles, one with water, one with electrolytes (Gatorade). Stay hydrated all day, and into the evening. Use the same guidelines when traveling.

If you’re not peeing every hour or hour and half, you’re not drinking enough water.

Every year, people die in Phoenix and the desert Southwest because they didn’t carry enough water. Not just tourists but locals too.

Good advice! When moving our son to Arizona years ago every apartment complex we went to offered small bottles of water. We sucked them down each time, then at the end of the day we looked at how many we drank and realized we had not needed to use the restroom once!

Its a recognized issue - people avoiding drinking in order to avoid restrooms. It can lead to urinary tract infections, among the other issues mentioned.

For some people, myself definitely included, I also drink more alcohol on a trip that I would at home. I don’t often have wine or beer at lunch here in the USA unless it’s some sort of an occasion, but often do in Europe. Even more reason to make sure you’re drinking water since alcohol also can dehydrate you.

Great reminder...except Tamales are not ever roasted. I recently had a friend touring around Mexico that landed in a Mexican Hospital due to heat exhaustion and severe dehydration and required IV fluids to get her back on the road. My friend is 55 and has traveled to Mexico many times, she just lost track of her water intake and underestimated the heat and the amount of activity they were doing, just having fun.

I bring a 32 oz waterbottle - a Cambelbak that won't leak, and my cross body is large enough that it will hold it. My goal (without crazy heat, mind you), is to finish the 2nd bottle around dinner or before bed, worst case. I don't like plain water, so I make sure to bring enough (plus extra) of my drink additive (in this case, SF Kool Aid packets) for the whole trip, plus some extra.

I will not compromise on 64 oz, period. Do I have maps of free bathrooms? Yes. Will I spent $$ on a drink, etc., at a cafe to be able to use their bathroom? Yes, of course. But scrimping on drinking is not negotiable.

I deliberately referenced roasting a Tamale to see if anyone would catch the "glitch".
Well done! Just don't overcook your own meat!

And if you’ll be doing a lot of hiking or are in extreme heat such as Europe has seen lately, getting the electrolytes you need by adding powdered electrolytes to your water is helpful. It reduces the need for drinking excessive amounts water that can leads to excessive urinating. More electrolytes= less trips to the bathrooms of Europe. Sporting goods stores often sell them and Costco has an electrolyte formula in one of the vitamin C packets it sells by the box. Packing a box is a good idea
Safe travels.

Much to the horror of too many Europeans, I refill my bottle... FROM THE TAP!!!

Yep, tap water all the way.

Kenko-I second the electrolyte suggestion. I use packets that cost $.39 each from Sprouts, the cucumber one is so refreshing.

We always carry water with us and if we have a rental car we buy those 6 liter bottles of water for less than 2€ and keep it in the car. We refill from the tap or the large bottle.

Marbleskies, good post. I can't seem to drink enough water on an airplane because as you say, they are dehydration machines. It's amazing. The last thing I want is alcohol as it dries you out even more. One caveat: Be careful with perhaps over-hydrating in certain places where bathrooms are not readily available. Paris, for example. When we were last there in 2018, there were LONG lines at the sidewalk self-cleaning toilets. The parks we walked through had not toilets, or at least we couldn't find one. The two of us ended up walking from the Arc de Triomphe to Le Marais and I'm glad I had not downed a large bottle of water before we did that! Yes, you can stop in a cafe, order something, and use the toilet, but that's not always convenient. Bottom line is I went 8 hours without a bathroom break, a personal record! Paris, figure out the toilet situation. I'm getting up there in years.

The bathroom situation in Paris is far better than almost every US city I've ever been in - NYC, Boston, Chicago, DC, etc.

My Toilet trick is to find a Major big hotel, walk in like you own the place (walk with purpose) and use the toilet in the lobby. I also use Starbucks and McDonalds.
The potty issue is a good reason to use hydration packs rather than straight water, more hydration and less potty.

Suddenly drinking a whole lot of water in a hot climate isn't that clever - you need to be drinking electrolytes - so a glass of water with a teaspoon of salt and tablespoon of sugar. I often order a fruit juice and add salt to it. The electrolyte imbalance is far more of an issue. Humans get a lot of their water from the food we drink - so you are only at real risk if you are fasting at the same time

I think you're downplaying what will happen when you hydrate a lot. It was tough enough before COVID to find places to pee, now it can be a major challenge. So be prepared to have a sudden urge that cannot be denied.

Having actually lived in Philly and NYC, I never had a problem finding a place to pee. Paris was a tragicomedy in this regard. Yes, we went into a cafe to order a drink in order to use the bathroom, but that doesn't always work out if you want to pee and go. I left just before the open urinals made their lovely appearance, but it would seem quite difficult for women folks to use them.

It's unfair because men can slip behind a bush or whatever and let it go, meaning passerby can enjoy the ambience for days afterward.

Hikes and outdoor tours (most tours here are outdoors) are a national pastime here, school kids have several every year, and most adults enjoy them too either with a tour or as a family group. All too many months are hot and most of the time there's lots of sunshine. The very first rule you learn in pre-school is everyone has to wear a hat and carry a water bottle.

Like to fill our water bottles at public fountains and on the spigots in rural churches in Italy. Very refreshing! Other countries are water is harder to find for free. We buy the BIG jug of water and carry it in countries where tap water is not safe for Americans. Letizia hit the bathroom hunt right on the button. Fancy hotels have beautiful public spaces and nice bathrooms. There is always the small expression at a bar. Never leave a museum without using the “facilities”.

Good advice. In Air Force flight-school they taught us your brain works at 75 percent efficiency when you are a quart low on water. You start to feel thirsty at a quart low. If you're thirsty, you're already behind.

Hope this isn't too gross. In survival school, they taught us to analyze our pee for dehydration - clear is ideal (but a vitamin tablet will add color).

Travel Boss, just be careful about over-hydrating. Alan Shepherd comes to mind.

Big Mike,

LOL. Yes and just water isn't good if you're sweating. You need to add electrolytes too but more water than electrolytes. A coach in college suggested switching back and forth between one water then one cola, water, cola... up to a few colas a day. The water is needed. The cola adds electrolytes plus caffeine and sugar to keep you going.

Thanks Marbleskies for starting this thread. Some good tips to help prevent dehydration. I especially agree with the comment that it's very helpful to carry a 32 oz water bottle to measure how much water is ingested. For myself I know from a wt. chart/MD that I need at least 50 to 60 ounces a day. I used to see moderate to severe dehydration cases in Urgent Care mainly from hot weather, Gastroenteritis, kidney diseases and certain medications that increase the risk of dehydration. By the time patients come into Urgent Care they are in crisis mode and need a couple liters of fluids. That takes at least 2 hours to infuse. Patients had decreased urine output, extreme thirst, confusion and headaches... Fortunately after hydration measures most patients recover well and are sent home to continue rehydrating. As a "Mom" to a "Dad" safe travels to everyone!