Why do elderly people refuse to drink sufficient fluid?

Have you tried non alcoholic wine? If he likes whiskey, he might like ginger ale. You can get large bottles, but if he won't drink, best to get the individual cans as the are fresher. Open it in front of him so he knows it is only ginger wine.

A small drop of the hard stiff won't do him harm, just enough to taste. If he is old and disabled, how many years is he likely to have, doing without his favourite tipple?

Whether a person is drinking enough or not can be seen by the colour of the urine. The lighter it is, the more water is being drunk.

3L a day is unnecessary if his urine is pale. Only if it is dark should you worry about not drinking enough. Do you drink 3L a day? There are quite a few mugs of tea in 3L.

The taste of chemicals in tap water is quite concentrated unless the tap is run a lot of the time.

Many people living alone buy bottled water. The disabled cannot handle large bottles, and sometimes screw caps on small bottles.

Find out what he likes, it can change from day to day, and get it for him, so that he knows you are thinking the best for him.

It doesn't have to be water, does it? Find out what he likes to drink and give him that.So long as he isn't alcoholic, he could have some alcohol, four hours after meds and 4hrs before the next meds.

No one likes being bullied, especially when they are old.

Absolutely agree with this - we live in the Severn-Trent area and the water that comes from the tap is all but undrinkable even though we installed a water purifier at great expense!

That 2.5L includes the water content of food.

Not sure if you’re still checking this but another variation on water is to put a splash of milk in it - a hot drink is best! Gran has drunk this for 60+ years instead of tea or coffee.

You obviously don’t live in the same part of the UK as me.

Because most of our water has been through the ground, it contains bacteria that needs to be treated by chlorine. You can smell the chlorine when you run the tap. On our water company’s web site they tell you to leave the water to stand in a jug to get rid of some of the chlorine. Really it just tastes horrible. We have found if we buy bottled water we drink twice as much.

No, anaesthetist. Urologists don't mange renal failure, nephrologists do.

I'm not saying I know more than anyone. I'm just saying that fluid restriction is more common in advanced renal failure, so it's worth someone going with your relative to appointments as it's v likely that at some point in their disease process they'll be swapped over and it will be useful for you to know when as fluid overload in advanced ckd is quite dangerous

U.K. tap water is not usually heavily chlorinated - it’s generally perfectly palatable, Maybe you’re thinking of somewhere else. I certainly remember tap water in a Miami hotel tasting of nothing but chlorine! 🤮

Sorry ! Replied to wrong person 🤦‍♀️

Not sure if someone already mentioned this as haven't RTFT but for UTIs I've always found DMannose helpful (so before any antibiotics prescribed) - if given early enough or used daily as a preventative it seems to do the trick. And is natural sugar so can just dissolve in a cup of tea / squash.

Have you tried jelly drops? they’re 95% water, and taste like sweets so the person doesn’t feel like they’re drinking.

I’m not sure why doctors have recommended 3 litres of water in this particular case, that seems incredibly excessive but I do know that what we’ve been brainwashed into believing about our water intake by the companies who want to sell us bottled water is false. Most of us only need 1,2 litres of water per day, and this can come from food, soups and a variety of different beverages. Also in terms of most hydrating drinks, skimmed milk scores higher than plain water.
www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/do-you-really-need-to-drink-two-litres-of-water-a-day-2/

Definitely try a mix of things

breakfast - cereal with milk or porridge, add some fruit, orange juice on the side
lunch - soup with sandwich
tea - casseroles with veg, jelly, sorbet, ice cream, apple crumble with custard, alcohol free beer

Sneak in the extra fluid, jelly, custard, yogurt/mousse, ice lollies, milkshake with ice cream, cereal and milk. As many have said it might be a toileting issue. Sometimes the issue is water, add some elderflower cordial, caffeine free tea/coffee. I completely agree, really frustrating! Good luck

Stair lift so she access the toilet more easily?

Has his appetite also declined. It could be that large quantities of liquid feel uncomfortable and make him feel too full to eat.
Perhaps smaller amount spread through the day would be easier? Try aiming for 50ml servings of squash or juice or whatever he will tolerate to begin with rather than an overwhelming 300ml glass.
Start small, build up to 1 litre (it is better than nothing) before trying to increase his intake to the massive 3 litres which most people would struggle with.

I'm 75 pretty fit and well really and working part time. I rarely drink water although did when I was a kid. Lots of tea and coffee but I do like the occasional smoothie and the little boxes of apple juice. And the little bottles of yogurt drink that have extra vitamins etc.I don't drink much after about 6pm as would rather not have my bladder wake me up in the night!

Yes I’ve seen these too or something similar advertised on FB. Apparently the founder of the company made these special sweets for his grandparent or parent for this exact reason. Might be worth a shot.

I actually don't like straight water but much prefer sparkling water with ice and a slice as it has a bit of a bite to it. Try that?

My granny never drank enough too. She said it made her pee loads and she was sick of always having to get up and go to the toilet, especially during the night when she was finally comfortable.

My DGM kept getting water infections because she wouldn't drink enough. The care home only tested for uti's if we pushed for it and then she'd be put on antibiotics. It was a vicious circle.
As we age, our thirst perception changes and we don't feel as thirsty as we are. Coordination, memory problems and not wanting to keep going to the toilet can also be a reason.
My DGM ended up with sepsis as the last urine infection affected her kidneys and bloodstream. She passed away in January

I have been giving my Mum bottles of fruit drinks with straws in and she is finding it much easier to drink using a straw .

Quite a lot of people don't like just plain water. Try squash, tea, coffee, fizzy water, tonic water, anything for flavour.
I know plain water is good for people but my 94 yr old mum has never drunk just water. Too late now.

The part of the brain that registers thirst powers down as we get older. So, to put it simply many older people will not feel thirsty in the same way a younger person would. If this is accompanied with physical frailty, frequent urge, cognitive decline etc; it's likely the person may not drink as much.