How Staying Hydrated Helps You Avoid Coronavirus?
Coronavirus, also known as the COVID-19, is a global pandemic. Starting from the city of Wuhan, China, this respiratory disease has spread to all parts of the world, disrupting peoples’ lives, businesses, and entire economies.
This article covers the symptoms of coronavirus and indicates how water can help shield your body against this deadly virus.
What Are The Symptoms Of Coronavirus?
The symptoms of coronavirus can range in severity. While most cases reported are typically mild, there’s no denying that this virus can be pretty deadly. The symptoms of COVID-19 don’t typically reveal themselves until after 2-14 days of being exposed to it.
Here are a few symptoms that you will manifest if you have the coronavirus.
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of Breath
What Is Dehydration?
When an individual loses more fluids than they consume, their body is dehydrated. The human body is made of up of almost two-thirds of water, making water an essential part of our daily life. Water contributes incredibly to the smooth functioning of our bodily functions. From facilitating digestion to lubricating joints and getting rid of toxins from the body—water does it all!
When your body loses its water content, you can expect to experience a ton of negative effects. This impact usually manifests itself in the form of various dehydration symptoms. Lack of fluids can make you feel thirsty, sleepy, hungry and even give you a mild headache. Moreover, it can dry out your mouth, giving you bad breath, and cause muscle cramps.
Most importantly, the most deadly consequence of prolonged dehydration is that it weakens your immune system, making your body susceptible to a variety of illnesses, including the coronavirus.
The myth about Dehydration and Coronavirus
Even in this crucial time, people don’t refrain from putting out all sorts of false information. A popular myth circulating on social media states that drinking water every 15 minutes can flush the virus from your system. This myth has encouraged people to believe that staying hydrated at all times is the solution to the virus. However, that is not the case. There is still no cure for this virus.
So, you must be wondering, “What is the actual connection between staying hydrated and protecting yourself from the coronavirus?” Let’s discuss that in detail below.
Fact about Dehydration and Coronavirus
Well, coronavirus is extremely contagious and can be transferred from one person to another when the infected person’s respiratory droplets enter the uninfected person’s mouth or nose. Furthermore, the person may even contract the virus within seconds if they come into contact with an object that a COVID-19 patient has touched and then touches their eyes, mouth or nose with the infected hands. While the symptoms of this threatening disease can range in severity, those with weak immune systems tend to suffer the most. A research study revealed that those with pre-existing illnesses or weakened immune symptoms develop the most serious symptoms of the coronavirus like bronchitis or pneumonia. One of the most common reasons for a weak immune system is dehydration.
Since the human body is made of 60% water, the importance of water in our daily lives comes as no surprise even during this pandemic. Keeping your body hydrated is a major step in remaining healthy while ensuring that all your body functions operate efficiently and smoothly without any issues. Moreover, hydration not only helps you lose weight and maintain healthy hair and skin but it also considerably boosts your immunity.
So, consuming ample amounts of water to keep your body hydrated acts as your body’s first line of defense against the deadly coronavirus. Consuming ample water is not a cure for the coronavirus and does not guarantee that you will not contract the virus. However, by boosting your immune system, water does reduce the chances of getting infected by the virus and the severity of the virus if you do get infected.
How Can Staying Hydrated Protect You From The Coronavirus?
People around the world are in self-quarantine for quite a while now to protect themselves from catching this virus. While a vaccine for the novel coronavirus is in the pipeline, staying as healthy as possible is the best and probably the only way to keep this infection at bay.
Experts suggest that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, people should focus on maintaining top-notch personal hygiene. This includes washing your hands properly, multiple times a day, especially after you touch any object or surface and covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Furthermore, experts recommend that individuals should follow a healthy and balanced diet, avoiding smoking and drinking, and most importantly, stay hydrated.
Staying hydrated not only boosts your immune system but also ensures that in case you catch this deadly virus, your body has everything it requires to fight it!
Here are a few ways in which staying hydrated can help you avoid the coronavirus.
Helps with Cell Oxygenation
Consuming ample water helps in the oxygenation of your body cells. When your body cells have enough oxygen, they function at their optimal level, protecting your body from any foreign bodies that might try to enter. Moreover, if on the off chance foreign bodies do enter your body, well-oxygenated cells will fight them
Regulates Body Temperature
One of the most important symptoms of coronavirus is fever. Keeping your body well-hydrated regulates your body temperature. Hence, if you do come down with a fever, whether it is because of the coronavirus or any other illness, consuming enough water is extremely crucial.
Improves Cognitive Function
Consuming enough water is imperative for improving cognitive functioning. While a pandemic like this can wreak havoc on people’s minds and affect their decision-making abilities, staying hydrated will make you more aware of your behavior. Moreover, it will help you make safer and healthier decisions.
Reduces Chances of Infection
A report by HarvardHealth suggests that keeping your body hydrated is imperative for a number of reasons. One of the most important reasons is reducing the risk of infections. A well-hydrated body is a well-functioning one. Hydration helps transmit nutrients to almost all parts of the body, keeping all body functions running at their optimal level.
Helps Get Rid of Mucus
When an individual contracts an illness such as flu or fever, they tend to lose water from their body in the form of mucus. This is your body’s way of eliminating any germs that cause diseases. So, by consuming enough water and keeping your body hydrated, you increase the production of mucus, hence, expelling any disease-causing germs.
Increases Visits to the Restroom
Consuming lots of fluids and water will increase your visits to the restroom. This means that you will also be washing your hands more regularly, and that is something that the doctors and experts highly recommend.
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Conclusion
During this time, the important thing is that you need to keep your body hydrated at all times by consuming different fluids. While keeping hydrated cannot completely prevent you from falling prey to this novel virus, it sure can help strengthen your immune system.
Until any vaccine for the coronavirus is out, make sure you wash your hands, maintain a healthy lifestyle, remain hydrated and well, stay safe in your homes!
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