Many of our
patients at Novus Medical Detox Center are
"veterans" of prior medical detox
facilities. The present record is nine
previous medical detox programs before the patient
came to Novus. These "veterans" often
compare their detox experience at Novus to their
previous medical detoxes. They tell us
that they love having a private room. They
rave about the food and they tell us how much they
like our staff. They tell us how much
they appreciate being treated as an individual and
not just a "type" based on their substance.
But primarily they tell us how much better they
are feeling in a much shorter time than at any
previous medical detox.
Our
patients tell us that one treatment that they know
makes them feel better is the vitamin IV that is
given during each of the first three days of their
stay and sometimes every day of their stay.
Our vitamin IV consists of a saline solution
containing certain vitamins, minerals and amino
acids. After the IV, they tell
us that they feel better and a variety of symptoms
they were experiencing have either lessened or
even disappeared. We also
encourage our patients to drink water with
electrolytes and vitamin C powder throughout the
day.
The vitamin IVs and
electrolyte drinks not only provide vital
nutrients, but they also provide something that
may be more important to a person who has been
taking an opioid, drinking alcohol or taking other
prescription drugs-hydration. Ensuring that
our patients are hydrated is a vital and,
according to our patients, omitted part of the
medical protocol at most other medical
detoxes. The purpose of this newsletter is
to provide some of the reasons why hydration is so
important to all of us and particularly to people
going through any type of medical detox.
WHAT IS
HYDRATION?
The Merriam Webster
Medical Dictionary defines hydration as, "the
condition of having adequate fluid in the body
tissues." We know that in order
to have "adequate fluid" in the body, it takes
more than just pouring water down your throat for
a few minutes. One doctor compared hydrating
the body to the way a sponge absorbs water.
Hydration in the body happens over time and most
of the water we drink or obtain from the foods we
eat is not absorbed and retained by the body but
is passed out as urine and sweat.
WHAT IS
DEHYDRATION?
Dehydration is the
opposite of hydration and means that the body does
not contain as much water as it should.
Dehydration is
generally classified as:
· Mild-between
1-3 percent loss of fluid impairs your body's
performance
· Moderate-between 4-9
percent loss of fluid further impairs your body's
performance and commonly leads to heat
exhaustion
· Severe-a 10
percent or greater loss of fluid which can be
life-threatening
WHAT ARE ELECTROLYTES?
Electrolytes are salts that
conduct electricity and are found in the body
fluid, tissue, and blood. Electrolytes in your
body are essential for normal function of your
cells and organs and also play a major role in
keeping the body hydrated. The most common
electrolytes are sodium, potassium, chloride,
magnesium and calcium.
Electrolytes are used by cells
in the body to carry electrical
impulses signaling activities such as muscle
contractions and other nerve impulses to other
cells. Properly hydrated, the kidneys work to keep
the electrolyte concentrations in the blood
constant even if you are exercising and sweating
or having diarrhea. If your body is
deficient in electrolytes, it will have a very
hard time functioning properly and also keeping
hydrated.
WATER AND OUR
CELLS
Water is a molecule composed of two parts hydrogen
and one part oxygen. All of us are aware
that our bodies are composed of cells. These
cells make up all of your vital organs like the
heart, liver and kidneys. Of the water in
your body, it is estimated that approximately 65%
is contained inside the cells and 35% outside the
cells.
My first experience with the
effects of water on cell activity was in junior
high school. Our teacher took a drop from a
beaker of pond water and put it on a slide
under a microscope. When I looked through
the microscope, I saw the cells moving rapidly
around. However, as the water began to
evaporate, the cell activity became slower and
slower. The teacher then put some more of
the pond water on the slide and suddenly the cells
became very active again.
When your body is not properly
hydrated, the cells in your body start to slow
their activity and try to minimize the water that
they use. This means that your organs will
not operate as they should and this leads to many
problems in how your body functions.
Your body relies on chemical
reactions to provide the energy and
communications needed for it to function.
These chemical reactions rely on fluids in the
body. As an infant, your body is composed of
75% water and as you age, this percentage of water
reduces to about 60%.
Even as an adult, water makes up
approximately 85% of your brain. Blood,
which carries nutrients to every part of the body
and carries away the waste material in your body,
is composed of about 94% water.
When patients are going through
a medical detox program, it is even more important
that all their organs are working in an optimal
manner to deal with the stress of detox.
Otherwise, it is like going up a hill in an eight
cylinder car with only four cylinders
working. You may make it up the hill but it
will be really hard.
HOW DO WE KEEP OUR BODY
HYDRATED?
Normally a
person takes water into the body by drinking
fluids (approximately 50% of the total water
intake) and through eating foods that contains
water (the remaining 50% of the water
intake). Many people are surprised
when they hear that as much as 50% of the water
that they consume during the day comes from
foods. Most fruits and vegetables are as
much as 95% water and even lean meats are as much
as 70% water.
Fluid is removed from the body
in the following ways:
· Through our urine-- about
56%
· In our fecal matter--
about 10%
· Through the lungs-- about
13%
· Through sweat and
evaporation through the skin-- about 21%.
CONCLUSION
Next week, we will
discuss the effects of dehydration on the body and
how you can ensure that you keep your body
hydrated. At Novus Medical Detox Center, our
interest is always to find a natural solution
rather than a drug. What could be more
natural than water?
NOTE: This email is provided for
general educational purposes only and is not
intended to constitute (i) medical advice or
counseling, (ii) the practice of medicine
including psychiatry, psychology, psychotherapy or
the provision of health care diagnosis or
treatment, (iii) the creation of a physician
patient or clinical relationship, or (iv) an
endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any
third party product or service by the sender or
the sender's affiliates, agents, employees,
consultants or service providers. If you
have or suspect that you have a medical problem,
contact your health care provider
promptly.
