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How much water do you drink every day?

(97 Posts)
merlotgran Sat 07-Jan-17 13:26:48

If I drank two cups of tea an hour I'd never be out of the loo. I think my bladder is sensitive to caffeine because when I was a child we drank tea and weak coffee from babyhood because the water wasn't safe to drink unless boiled so all RAF brats were weaned on tea with evaporated milk!!

When I returned home to boarding school I had the weakest bladder in the class. I was always in trouble for needing to leave the room as they weren't so understanding in those days. I used to worry about school trips etc., but thanks to years of horse riding my pelvic floor muscles ensured my bladder started to behave itself.

I've probably got my fluid intake about right. I hope so because if I start to go doo-lally I'm not sure DH would notice. hmm

Greyduster Sat 07-Jan-17 13:24:22

I drink about four or five cups of coffee a day, and will then have one or two glasses of water during the evening. I also take a glass to bed and will drink that if I wake up during the night, which I usually do. Our tap water here is very palatable. We only drink bottled water if we are out walking.

tanith Sat 07-Jan-17 13:17:34

We drink plenty of water we have both usually got either a glass or bottle beside us and OH always has a bottle in his pocket wherever he goes. After a serious surgery he was told to keep drinking plenty to get his kidneys kick started afterwards and the habit has stuck..

paddyann Sat 07-Jan-17 13:12:08

I drink a lot of tea ,which is fine as I dont have milk or sugar in it ,but I'd say at least two cups an hour during the day plus I drink maybe a pint of cranberry juice as I'm prone to bladder infections and that ,according to my GP,helps prevent/cure them .I also usually have a glass of diluted cordial a couple of times a day ,my mother in law joked that my kettle never gets the chance to cool down it on so often

Elrel Sat 07-Jan-17 13:08:38

Instructions re TKR procedure included drinking lots of water before and after to promote healing. Two days after the op I was put on restricted fluids as my enthusiastic drinking had lowered my sodium. ?
It seemed like I couldn't win!!

Welshwife Sat 07-Jan-17 13:05:54

Mumof mad boys I have been on a diet of having no added salt and never putting it in food I am cooking for about thirty years due to high blood pressure - it went too low about a year ago. The water I drink has quite a lot of sodium in it and the GP said I should put salt on my chips! He rang me in the evening after a test to tell me that! I also put salt on tomatoes and eggs but that is all. Levels are still very low but slightly improved.

Alima Sat 07-Jan-17 12:54:04

Like Charleygirl the only water I drink is in my several cups of strong black coffee each day in the winter. On a hot day I like a cold glass of diluted Vimto or a slurp of something fizzy. Really do not like drinking water on its own. Always amazed me how some people drink so much liquid, have visions of their insides slopping about.

Nanevon Sat 07-Jan-17 12:45:01

I gather too much liquid is as bad health wise as not enough. My OH is on restricted liquid as his sodium levels are low. All very well for the GP to say restrict him to 1.25 litres per day but he does have tablets to take - 12 morning and 14 evening. Still will have to see what next set of blood tests show.

mumofmadboys Sat 07-Jan-17 12:44:03

Drinking lots of water will lower your sodium levels welshwife

Izabella Sat 07-Jan-17 12:39:37

Around 2L's but then I am renal trained

Welshwife Sat 07-Jan-17 12:23:26

We drink quite a lot of water but I find it a bit difficult to have it cold in the winter. OH and I both have a bottle of water where we habitually sit and a glass beside us - as the water is the bottled sort it us easy to see how much you drink. I drink the sparkling ones - Badoit, Vichy for same reasons as * Christine* and also my sodium levels are very low - often below the bottom line. OH prefers still water so he mostly has Evian as that is the purest one and the only one babies and children should have.
We drink a few cups of tea and coffee during the day. The GP told me to make sure I keep my fluid intake up - very important with some medications. I know by the colour of my wee if I am drinking enough!! I easily exceed the two litres of water a day in the warm weather plus tea and coffee!

Christinefrance Sat 07-Jan-17 12:04:01

Water is not boring it's very refreshing and healthy. I have one cup of coffee in the morning and for the rest of the day I always have a glass of chilled water with me. I do drink bottled water with added magnesium as I find this helps keep cramp at bay.
UTI'S in older people cause all sorts of problems, confusion amongst them.
Don't go to extremes with water though as this can be problematic too.
Must admit to enjoying the odd glass of wine and a G & T so I'm not a total waterholic. smile

Anya Sat 07-Jan-17 12:03:10

I don't drink water unless I'm exercising hard.

Charleygirl Sat 07-Jan-17 12:02:46

I never drink water unless it is laced with coffee and that is all that I drink during the winter. The vast majority of my coffee comes out of a jar.

rosesarered Sat 07-Jan-17 12:02:40

I sometimes drink water, but more often with a weak amount of cordial added, Summerfruits or elderberry, much nicer!
I drink decaf tea mainly and perhaps one coffee a day.human beings, like all animals, drink when thirsty, but elderly people often ignore feelings of thirst/hunger.

janeainsworth Sat 07-Jan-17 11:53:53

No ana. Straw coloured as it appears it in the bowl.
Obviously doesn't work if you're a frequent user of brightly coloured toilet cleaners wink

goldengirl Sat 07-Jan-17 11:48:44

2-3 glasses a day if I'm at home and near a loo + tea, coffee and hot chocolate!

Elegran Sat 07-Jan-17 11:42:43

If you drink tea or coffee, you get the water free!

They are just water with stuff dissolved in them, and everything that goes into your stomach gets churned around together and mixed with hydrochloric acid before going through your intestine, where it is filtered out and into the bloodstream.

Two litres of coffee or tea (10 cups!) contains quite a lot of caffeine, but some coffee, some tea, some water, some fruit juice, some liquid in food, is as good as two solid litres of water.

Older people are prone to UTIs anyway. They don't always drink enough of anything. It doesn't always have to be plain boring water, they would drink more if it tasted of something..

Ana Sat 07-Jan-17 11:40:57

But wouldn't you have to collect a sample to check? Otherwise it just gets diluted by the water in the toilet bowl...

janeainsworth Sat 07-Jan-17 11:38:51

Tea and coffee does count merlot
I have a glass of water with every meal, and usually 3 large mugs of tea and a coffee every day. I think coffee has a slight diuretic effect though & could contribute to dehydration.
Then there's the wine wink
I think dehydration does contribute to UTIs and they do cause confusion in older people.
The aim is to drink enough fluid to keep the urine a pale straw colour.

Antonia Sat 07-Jan-17 11:36:13

I don't drink a lot of water - maybe a glass after dinner, but tea and coffee do count. They are mainly water after all. Also our food contributes to our fluid intake even if it's solid food.

merlotgran Sat 07-Jan-17 11:26:44

DD and I have been discussing this because she recently had a UTI and was ticked off by our GP for not drinking enough during the day. This is because her job means she is often nowhere near a loo and she has got into the habit of not drinking when she grabs a quick sandwich for lunch.

I've been googling (as you do) and the recommendation seems to be 2 ltrs. but does that include tea and coffee etc?

I have never had a UTI myself but my mother, who wouldn't have known a glass of water if it threw itself over her, suffered them frequently in old age. They would send her completely doo-lally which is something I'd quite like to avoid. grin

Her carers used to say that it was hard work getting the residents to drink water - not just Mum and dehydration was the reason for smelly urine shock

I've always had a glass of water at lunchtime but other than that it's mainly tea and coffee etc., although I do drink more during hot summer weather.

My NY resolution is in the tap it seems.