Why do elderly people refuse to drink sufficient fluid?

I buy jelly drop sweets for my dad to up his fluid a little. They are 95% water. You will find them if you google jelly drop sweets for the elderly. Dad happily has a couple of packs a day.

He needs to drink at least 1.2 litres of fluids a day - not 3L!

Will he drink a beer a day?

There must be some kind of liquid he likes - cuppa soups, fizzy drinks, fruit juice, squash, sparkling water, flavoured milk? It really doesn't matter what it is.

There are ways to get fluids in that don't involve drinking loads of water though. Fruits like watermelon or vegetables like cucumber are good to add in. Juices and flavoured waters would be better than nothing (although obviously not healthy). But I'd try the food route as well. Ice lollies can be helpful, tinned fruit where you serve the juice that the fruit came in with the fruit. Even jelly and ice cream gets some fluid in.

not many older folk at all need 3L of fluid a day. That much fluid (any fluid, but particularly water) could in fact be quite bad for the average older person. Gents of a certain age also suffer with their prostates a bit more than the average MN'er and if you're up to the loo every hour every night because you've drunk what your younger, prostate-less relative thinks you should, then life becomes pretty miserable.

So he never drinks anything?

This is what I thought to be honest. My mum is 94 and has dementia. It’s very difficult to get her to drink water and the advice from continence services is a limit of 1.5 litres a day - which is enough to keep her hydrated, so her urine isn’t concentrated and kidneys are functioning normally. it wasn’t all recommended as water intake either - tea, fruit juice and whatever else she drinks all counted. Three litres is too much in my opinion and it’s no wonder he’s distressed.

This is a contentious subject.
My late husband's grandfather died because he was not given enough water after an operation.
My parents complained that they were "up all night" going to the loo, after drinking the local mineral water I provided, when they stayed with me.
Where I live, it is normal to drink bottled mineral water, I drink between 2 and 3 litres per day.
If you are in the UK and have to drink heavily chlorinated tap water, I can completely understand why this would not be so appealing.

He can get a lot of fluid from food - soups, stews, fruit, herbal teas...

This is extremely common (have worked for years with elderly). The main reason I have found is that they don't want to have to go to the toilet; for various reasons e.g. poor mobility, worried they will wet themselves if they drink more or are just lazy and can't be bothered. Also, they come from a generation where people drank with meals and didnt constantly drink all day long like folk do now. They simply aren't used to drinking all day long - no carrying water bottles around with them when they were younger. They don't realise that they need more fluid as they age. Medications can mean they need to drink more, or their bodies don't metabolise as efficiently and they can be prone to constipation and UTIs. 3L seems excessive though and drinking that much could actually be dangerous and disrupt electrolyte balance.

@Disscombobulated is he dribbling in his trousers to make your house smell?? are his trousers stained and does he bathe or shower regularly?

I think the culture of constantly drinking water, having a water bottle next to you, is a generational thing. Even people in their mid 40s weren't brought up to have bottles of water and to drink two litres a day etc.
My elderly mum finds water very boring but does like tea and soup.
It could be to do with a medical problem with swallowing also?
Not to mention bladder weakness and incontinence which might discourage someone from drinking.
Just offer interesting liquids. Even ice cream is liquid of sorts!

Please don't make him drink water. What does he enjoy drinking? Give him that. Squash, juice, tea, coffee, lollies, soup, salad, sorbets, fruits, milk even a shandy would be great.

You could get him a urine bottle like they use in hospital if he's afraid to get to the loo in time .

As you get older, it gets harder to recognise thirst.

You also have the issue of mobility (and getting to the toilet in time) and incontinence - many people would rather not drink than risk having an accident.

I would focus more on foods with lots of liquid - soup, stews, pasta with sauce, roast dinner with gravy etc, or even things like ice lollies. Drinks-wise it doesn't need to be water - tea, coffee etc. are all fine too.

3l?!?!? Fecking hell!! Op now I’ve had four kids and am 44. I am rushing to the toilet constantly after one litre and dreading going for the 2! I’d guess when you can’t rush to make it to the toilet life is all forms of hell. Blown away by 3l- surely they can do something better than that?

ps sorry to ‘when I was young’ you, but when I was young everyone just drank the odd glass of tap water, it was mostly milk and tea. There’s got to be a middle ground between the ridiculousness now. (Oh god I’m old and grumpy amn’t I?!?!?)

https://www.jellydrops.com/

I'm in my 70s, active and go out most days but I restrict my fluids unless I know for a fact that there will be public toilets available that are clean and easy to find. I squeeze out every last drop on the loo at home and can then go for about 5hrs without a pee as long as I don't drink anything! Yes, I know it's bad for me. In the evenings I don't drink because I'm fed up with getting up twice in the night to pee - where does it all come from?! I don't know what the answer is tbh 🤷

Fair enough, but does he need 3 litres of the stuff every day? If the hospital/medics think so and he is not doing it, then he should have a drip every so often I reckon to help his condition. I am sure there are ways around it other than forcing an ill man to drink that much if he doesn't feel like it, or doesn't want to. It's one thing drinking lots of water by choice but it's quite another if one feels forced to do it.

Obviously it’s to avoid the accidents.

Three litres a day is bonkers.

My Aunt has dementia and I know her family struggle to get her to drink anything it's a sip of this or that, she is mobile so pours drinks down the sink saying she's finished,