Symptoms of excessive fluid loss
Excessive fluid loss, clinically known as dehydration, can be classified into hypotonic dehydration, hypertonic dehydration, and isotonic dehydration, with different symptoms for each type.
1. Hypotonic dehydration: Patients with mild hypotonic dehydration generally experience symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and numbness in hands and feet. Moderate cases may present nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and orthostatic fainting. Severe cases may exhibit altered consciousness, muscle spasms, stupor, and difficulty breathing.
2. Hypertonic dehydration: Mild cases are typically characterized by thirst without other symptoms. Moderate cases may include intense thirst, weakness, reduced urine output, decreased skin elasticity, and increased muscle tone. Severe cases can manifest as agitation, hallucinations, convulsions, fainting, and dehydration fever.
3. Isotonic dehydration: Clinical symptoms include nausea, loss of appetite, weakness, oliguria, dry and loose skin. If fluid loss reaches 5% of body weight within a short period, patients may develop rapid and weak pulse, cold and clammy extremities, and unstable blood pressure.