To avoid becoming dehydrated you should drink plenty of fluids. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends that if you live in the UK (or somewhere with a similar climate), you should drink six to eight glasses of fluid every day.
As well as water, the FSA recommends semi-skimmed milk, diluted fruit juice and diluted squash.
Drinking regularly
If you're active, or if the weather is particularly hot, there's a greater risk that you will become dehydrated. To prevent becoming dehydrated, you should increase your fluid intake.
When exercising, you should drink up to 1 litre (2 pints) of fluid each hour of exercise on top of your normal daily amount. This should be increased if you're exercising in warm conditions because you will sweat more and fluid will be lost from your body more rapidly.
Also be aware that drinking more fluid than your body can process can lead to a low amount of sodium in the blood (hyponatremia). This is a serious and potentially fatal condition. If you start to feel discomfort and bloating from drinking, you should allow time to recover.
Illness
If you, your child or someone you're caring for is ill, it's important to monitor how much fluid they're drinking. If you or they have a fever, are vomiting or have diarrhoea, it's highly likely that dehydration will occur. Therefore it's important to start replacing fluid as soon as possible.
Advice for children
There are no specific recommendations regarding the amount of water or other fluids that children need. However, it's very important for children to replace lost fluid to prevent dehydration. Like adults, children lose more water when they're in hotter climates and when they're physically active.
You should give your child healthy drinks as part of an overall healthy, balanced diet.
For advice about specific drinks for young children, read Birth to five: drinks and cups.
