To: gopwinsin04
Does anyone know what the neurological effects could be from not having had water for so long?
13 posted on
03/23/2005 2:39:08 PM PST by
pa mom
To: pa mom
Dehydration - A Major Health Concern Water is the essence of life. It is the most important nutrient in our bodies, making up roughly 70 percent of our muscle and brain tissue. Only oxygen is craved by the body more than water. Unfortunately, most Americans and Canadians do not consume sufficient water every day to meet their bodies' most basic requirements, leaving them dehydrated. Dehydration itself is responsible for a wide range of common ailments experienced by just about everyone in today's busy, fast-paced world, including headache and fatigue. When we breathe, we lose moisture to the air every time we exhale - as much as two cups a day! Furthermore, our bodies lose water through evaporation from the surface of our skin even without rigorous exercise, and of course we also pass water in our urine. During the course of an average day, a healthy adult can lose eight to 10 cups of water. Add in exercise, and this number rises considerably. If we fail to replenish the water we lose through these natural processes, we set off a physiological reaction that can have serious health effects. The following is the natural progression of dehydration and its effects on the body (symptoms): Mild  because your kidneys will begin to conserve water, your urine will become concentrated and will be amber colored as opposed to a normal light-tinted yellow color.  constipation and/or bloating may be noticed  dry skin, mucous membranes, and lips  thirst, often extreme  flushed face Moderate  fatigue  sunken eyes or sunken fontanels (soft spot on head) in infants  lack of tears in crying infant  "doughy" skin that doesn't bounce back when pinched  dizziness / vertigo / lightheadedness  up to 30% decline in physical labor capacity, muscle cramping  headache  cold hands and feet  problems concentrating  drowsiness  fainting  impatience and extreme irritability  major reduction in urine production Severe  weak irregular heart beat (often racing) and low blood pressure  rapid breathing  failure of body's heat regulation systems (sweating, for example)  confusion  vomiting and/or diarrhea  shock, collapse or unconsciousness  seizures coma and death http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/dehydration-information.php
To: pa mom
Renal failure is the first sign of the ultamate end.
108 posted on
03/23/2005 2:56:07 PM PST by
hobson
To: pa mom
Does anyone know what the neurological effects could be from not having had water for so long? For a normal person, water deprivation would likely leave them weakened and highly discomfited. For a person whose cerebral cortex has been liquefied for over 10 years, however, they would have no knowledge, understanding, or sensation to inform them what was happening to them. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. As much as I dislike the way right-to-die zealots have manipulated this case to serve their ends (and please believe me, I do), and as much as I question her husband's motives, Terri Schiavo, as a "person" most likely ceased to exist long ago. If so, "She" is not suffering. Her body may be all that remains, and if so, I trust her soul has long since departed. This is a painfully difficult case, and one that, in a more thoughtful and less litigious world ought not be decided by judges, but by loved ones.
Now, here is the difficult part. To quote Charles Krauthammer:
The Florida court found that most of her cerebral cortex is gone. But 'most' does not mean all. There might be some cortex functioning. The very severely retarded or brain-damaged can have some consciousness. And we do not go around euthanizing the minimally conscious in the back wards of the mental hospitals on the grounds that their lives are not worth living.
Mr. Krauthammer is correct. And yet, the far better likelihood is that Terri's parents will ultimately need to accept the bitter truth about her condition. Like many others, I have struggled with this story because I am resolutely pro-Life, and would like more definitive tests to have been conducted for the purpose of determining whether anything remains of the person that once was. I hope that such an opportunity remains. Nonetheless, the likelihood of such an outcome is remote at best. Perhaps it is time to let her go, and focus on reforming the law to protect those who cannot speak for themselves - including the unborn.
To: pa mom
"Does anyone know what the neurological effects could be from not having had water for so long?"
I've been wondering that too. There DOES come a point of NO return and whatever lies they have said about Terri WILL BE TRUE IF they keep pussy footing around on this. Time is of the essence.
502 posted on
03/23/2005 4:43:41 PM PST by
nmh
(Intelligent people recognize Intelligent Design (God).)
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