My father says its unnecessary to drink so much water and will get very angry when I bring him a glass and tell him to drink it. I have tried giving him the drink mixes called liquid IV to replace just a plain glass of water and he does seem to like those but I wonder how good they are for him to drink constantly because of the high sodium, I do give him the sugar free ones. Also, I try and keep him from drinking too much after 8pm because otherwise he's up all night going to the bathroom, and having to change his diaper. How can I get him to drink all the water he needs during the day but also keep him from being up all night going to the bathroom.
What color is his urine during the day? use that as a gauge as to his hydration.
Dark, he needs more fluids
Clear, he needs less fluid
Anything in between might be just fine.
Please take into consideration what he is consuming during the day.
Juice, coffee, tea, soda, soup, stew, salads, fruits, vegetables, ice cream, pudding all contain fluids.
If this is an ongoing question with this September post I would discuss with the MD.
If many of the things that he eats during the day also have a lot of fluid he might be fine.
Cereal in the morning with milk, some juice, a cup of coffee. There is a lot of fluid there.
Lunch of some soup or a salad and fruit maybe some yogurt maybe some iced tea or another cup of coffee.
Same with dinner. Look at everything that has fluid
Go by the color of his urine.
If it is very dark then you can worry about getting more fluids in him. The exception to this would be early morning.
The sports drinks they are high in sodium because it is supposed to replace what someone sweats out when they are active. The high salt may actually encourage him to drink more. So if you want to give him those I would either give them in the morning so that he will drink more during the day. The other option if he does like the flavor and will drink them dilute them start with 75% sport drink, 25% water then after a while do 50% water 50% sport drink. If he still drinks that you can try 75% water and 25% sport drink.
Good luck!
Apple sauce, grapes, ect….
I did give the liquid in to my father, and it landed him in the hospital. I felt so horrible about buying it and giving it to him!! The salt was not good for him because of heart issues. It was hard on him, us, and an expensive mistake. I would only give the thickener if he has trouble swallowing.
Best of luck to you both. 🙏🍀❤️
I cannot drink plain water myself b/c it causes loss of sodium. (And as funkygrandma59 writes, plain water is boring.) I have a fluid restriction limit so I have make all my ounces count. I mix protein powder into coffee or tea to make a more "interesting" drink, and I make a "DIY Pedialyte" by adding salt and sugar and a touch of orange juice to water for a water-like drink. Maybe you can find some combination of flavors and drinks that your father likes and he will be more willing to drink that. If he takes medications with water or fluids, remember those ounces count, too.
https://www.jellydrops.us/
These were recommended by his hospice nurse.
I pretty much stopped struggling with him over it. Good luck.
Make it easy for him!
The man is 88 with Alzheimer's. My mother had dementia and hated drinking water so she refused. I did nothing to extend her life with such a cruel disease at play anyway, and despite drinking so little, she lived to 95.
Relax and save yourself all the aggravation.
And I wouldn't worry about the liquid IV drinks(especially since he likes them)having too much salt as salt is one of the many important electrolytes that the body needs to function well.
Also throwing in an Ensure daily can be a smart choice for not only fluids, but also if he's needing more calories in his diet.
And on a side note, I am not a big fan of water either as it is so very boring/blah to drink, so I personally do put the flavored water drops in mine which makes it much more tolerable to get my glasses of water in daily.