Generally speaking, in most cases, a glass of water is more than enough to keep you hydrated. However, in certain scenarios, you may need something a little more, and in these cases, oral rehydration solutions may be important. Luckily, our friendly experts have outlined some of the different things you should know about oral rehydration solutions and how they work. Hopefully, this will allow you the chance to decide whether these might be what you need, too.

What are Oral Rehydration Solutions?

Oral rehydration solutions are specialist products created to help you rehydrate after a bout of dehydration (as the name would suggest). Indeed, they are commonly used for people experiencing mild dehydration due to overexertion and exercise, high temperatures, or illness (most often diarrhoea or vomiting which causes water and fluid loss).

Oral rehydration solutions come in many forms, including powders, tablets, gels, and the like. These are typically diluted in water before consuming them. However, it’s also possible to make your own homemade oral rehydration solutions, although following instructions carefully is important to make sure you take on the right amount of rehydration - not too much and not too little.

When Water Alone Isn’t Enough

In many cases, water alone (alongside a healthy, balanced diet) is enough to maintain normal hydration. However, if you have lost fluids due to sweating or being unwell, you may need to replace these - and critically, you will also need to replace the lost body salts. This is where oral rehydration solutions come in, helping provide the salts your body needs to operate normally.

Of course, oral rehydration solutions aren’t necessarily enough to rehydrate you without drinking enough water as well. In some cases, the oral rehydration solution may be dilute enough that it provides ample water; however, if it’s a stronger solution, you’ll likely need to drink additional water as well.

Discover Effective Homemade Oral Rehydration Solution Recipes Today

If you think you might need an oral rehydration solution, there are plenty of different options you could consider, and our teams have outlined some key things you should know to help.

But, if you’d like to find out more about making your own homemade rehydration solution, quality homemade Pedialyte recipes could help. So, make sure you’ve got the right nutrition for your own health and hydration; after all, while it’s easy to overlook hydration, getting this wrong could have many consequences on your health!