Also if you are out in the heat and doing something that makes you sweat you need to replace your potassium levels!! This can cause you to have severe cramping!
Yes, yes this is so important. Just in a normal day, you need at least 2 1/2 qts of water per day. If you pooh pooh this, you can not only become dehydrated which can muck up your potassium levels, but your body's electrolyte balance is also compromised. All this together can lead to damage of the delicate tissues of the body.
If you want to know how much you should drink per day, just take your weight, divide it by 2, and that's how many ounces of water is suggested for your body mass. Then drink as much more as you comfortably can if you are out in this heat until it cools down.
You don't need to exercise at times like this when that part of the country is seeing record highs. Please be careful ladies, and make sure your children know this at an early age - it could save a lot of grief and sorrow.
I was in Boise, Idaho one day in 111 deg. heat when I collapsed on my way to my hotel room. My boyfriend saw me passing out, grabbed me and saved me from a two-flight fall down concrete stairs. He carried me into the air-conditioned hotel room and laid me on the bed. I "came to" right away and had abdominal pains as fierce as "labor pains." He had to gather me up in his arms and take me back outside again to quiet my screams. We agreed that it was too quick of a switch, so he got a chair and sat in in the open doorway where I could cool down gradually. I was instantly okay.
I almost lost my son to dehydration when he was only 2 1/2 yrs old. He got the flu - had ......../sicking-up - spent five days in the hospital over Christmas with IV tubes running in his poor little body. He was so close to dying that volunteers came in to hold him and entertain him almost 24/7. You know how groups are around Christmas.
I'm sorry this is so long, but when the words "dehydration" come up, I get a little panicky.