The SINGLE most common recommendation I make to my patients, regardless of why they are in to see me is to not only drink more water, but to take small sips as often as possible. Even more so in the era of Covid. Your best line of defence against the virus, other than not being exposed, is an intact and moist mucus membrane and thin, well flowing secretions and those are the first to be impacted by even minimal dehydration.
You can go days, weeks, even months without food (in fact periodic fasting is extremely valuable to human health) but only a few days without water. It is crucial to life and even a minimal drop in hydration impacts on all aspects of our physiology, including mental function. A little dehydration impacts our kid’s test-taking abilities. You lose fluids fast, especially during the cold, dry winter months. Just by breathing and perspiring, you lose 1 liter/quart while you sleep alone.
Dehydration contributes to many things in the ENT realm including headaches, including the “sinus headache” I see all the time. This is just a variant migraine and rarely an infection or allergy. It also contributes to tinnitus, dizziness, skin dryness and irritation, the dreaded “post-nasal drip”, coughing, hoarseness and throat clearing. In other parts of the body, it contributes to constipation, kidney stones, muscle cramps and even dry skin. Healthy skin comes primarily from within.
The simple fact is that the longer the virus stays in your nose, in contact with the mucus membranes, the greater the chances the virus can attach, replicate and infect you. If the virus is cleared quickly into the stomach, the stomach acids will kill it off. That’s also assuming you are not taking acid reducers.
Also, focus on frequency rather than volume of water. In your 20’s, you swallow spontaneously about 1000 times a day. It’s half that by your 50’s. The consequence of not swallowing as often is that secretions stay around longer, dry out and lead to symptoms like post-nasal drip. Once again, the longer the secretions stay around, the greater the chances of the virus taking hold. It’s better to drink a big glass of water slowly over the course of an hour rather than down a glass every hour on the hour.
By focusing on more sips, you;ll get the volume and in the process, increase your swallowing improving clearance of the 1/3rd of a gallon of nasal secretions and ¼ of a gallon of saliva everyone generates daily.
Stay safe and be well.
AC 🌊