Dehydration

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Skin turgor

• Dry or sticky mouth
• Low or no urine output; concentrated urine appears dark yellow
• Not producing tears
• Sunken eyes
• Markedly sunken fontanelles (the soft spot on the top of the head) in an infant
• Lethargic or comatose (with severe dehydration)

A physical examination may also show signs of:

• Low blood pressure
• Blood pressure that drops when you go from lying down to standing
• Rapid heart rate
• Poor skin turgor -- the skin may lack its normal elasticity and sag back into position slowly when pinched up into a fold by the doctor; normally, skin springs right back into position
• Delayed capillary refill
• Shock

• Blood chemistries (to check electrolytes , especially sodium, potassium, and bicarbonate levels)
• Urine specific gravity (a high specific gravity indicates significant dehydration)
• BUN (blood urea nitrogen -- may be elevated with dehydration)
• Creatinine (may be elevated with dehydration)
• Complete blood count (CBC) to look for signs of concentrated blood

Review Date: 06/13/2006
Reviewed By: Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.