Heatwave and the Elderly: the Family Hydration Guide

Your parents or grandparents live alone and it's 35°C: heatwaves kill every summer, and the over-75s are the first victims. Here's the caregiver's guide — why they don't feel thirst, and how to get them drinking.

• 🚨 Why they're in danger: with age, the thirst sensation DULLS (the brain alerts less and less), the body stores less water, and some medications (diuretics, laxatives) worsen the losses — an elderly person can dehydrate severely WITHOUT feeling thirsty
• 📞 The family reflex: call 2×/day in a heatwave (morning + evening), and ask THE precise question: « How many glasses have you drunk since this morning? » — not « are you okay? » (the answer will always be yes)
• 💧 The target: 8 glasses/day minimum, in small spread-out amounts — the challenge is that plain water « won't go down » for many seniors. The solution: give it TASTE without sugar: heavily diluted cool INTI (not iced), lemon water, cold broths
• 🔴 Watch the sugary drinks: sodas and juices (8-12g/100ml) worsen blood sugar that's often already monitored at that age (diabetes) — sugar-free taste is doubly relevant for seniors
• 🏠 The home: shutters closed by day, airing at night, the coolest room identified, damp cloth on the neck, and a mister

The family heatwave plan: 2 calls/day with the glasses question, 8 glasses/day minimum with sugar-free taste (INTI heavily diluted, cool not iced), a cooled home. ⚠️ Unusual confusion, drowsiness, fever, dry tongue, a skin fold that stays pinched, very dark or absent urine = severe dehydration: call the doctor or 112 WITHOUT waiting — in the elderly, it tips over in a few hours.

❓ FAQ