Senior Living Guide
Staying hydrated as a senior citizen by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor
Keeping cool in the summer is a challenge for anyone living in the city, which is not exactly known for its comfortable climate this time of year. For seniors, it’s even more of a struggle to stay hydrated. In 2021, 1,710 Northwell Health patients 65 and over were admitted with a primary, secondary or tertiary diagnosis of dehydration (which, according to Dr. Teresa Amato, director of geriatric emergency medicine for Northwell Health, is likely an underestimation). But this summer, the Chronicle’s got you covered with how to beat the heat. Part of the reason staying hydrated can be so difficult for seniors is because of a reduced sense for thirst. “Feeling thirsty, or feeling that need to drink, can be diminished just as we age,” Amato said. “It’s a normal process of aging.” Older adults also struggle to regulate their body temperature, which can be cause for concern on particularly hot days. “They’re metabolically different than their younger counterparts,” Amato explained. “They’re at a higher risk for getting hot, and not being able to cool off.” She added, “What makes up muscle versus fat, that changes as you get older. So it also puts you at higher risk.” In some cases, the issue is that seniors may not have air conditioning or have water readily available. “So an older adult that say, is somewhat physically debilitated, lives alone, has difficulty just getting up and getting to the sink,” Amato said. “They are having difficulty just getting access to water.” Another contributing factor is that seniors are more likely
Going for a swim may help seniors stay cool, but according to Dr. Teresa Amato, that is not a substitute for staying hydrated. to be on medications that can cause dehydration, such as diuretics or anti-depressants. But is the solution as simple as drinking more water? Not quite. “If it’s a particularly hot day, and you’re sweating profusely, you’re losing a lot of water from sweating. Sweating is not just water, it’s water plus electrolytes,” Amato explained. “The most important electrolyte in sweat is sodium. So if you just replace what you’re sweating out with water, proportionally, your water will go up at the expense of your sodium going down.” That condition, she added, is called hyponatremia, and can be a big problem for seniors, as it can cause an altered mental state and lead to unsteady walking and falls. Amato
said that seniors should consult their primary-care physicians to determine what the best method is for rehydration, be it drinking sports drinks, plain water or including sodium in their diets. Part of the solution is also being cognizant of how you or older adults in your family feel and act when dehydrated, as it can present differently in seniors. “If you have an older adult who’s not acting correctly or not acting themselves, they may be actually quite dehydrated,” Amato said. “In younger people, your heart rate would go up, your blood pressure might go down, you might feel like really, really thirsty. Older adults may not have any of those symptoms other than just not being themselves.” She added that that is particularly common among early dementia patients. For those able-bodied seniors, going for a swim, water walking or doing water aerobics at an indoor pool may help to stay cool. The Cross Island YMCA in Bellerose, for instance, sets aside pool space for water walking five days a week at various times, often in the morning. The Jamaica YMCA has water aerobics classes on Tuesdays from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. Amato noted that while hitting the pool helps to keep cool, it is not a substitute for hydration. On especially hot days, seniors should avoid strenuous activities — the best thing to do is to stay inside. “If it is an extremely hot day, and it is quite humid, you may not be able to cool off and you may not even be able to drink enough to replace the water you’ve lost,” Amato said. For those without air conditioning, cooling centers may be open on the hottest days of the summer. To find a cooling cenQ ter near you, visit maps.nyc.gov/cooling-center.
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