to think that thanking your own organic juice to give to your child at a party because you disapprove of the squash provided by the hosts us just rude?

[OhBuggerandArse]

Obviously I don't think I'm being unreasonable and would really just like you all to join me in my disgruntled ire. But go on, give it a shot at putting the other side of the story. No behavioural issues involved, if anyone was wondering whether that might be a possible tactic.

and pure water is an unnatural substance!

No that isnt true. I am a regular blood donor and I am required to drink a large glass of water whilst I am waiting to be bled.

I have been today-I was offered and drank water. There was squash, if I wanted it. I had tea afterwards but I could have had squash or I could have had water.

Sorry-been to the blood donor session.

I have looked up the sports advice and it seems that you can over-hydrate which is why sports drinks are advised but I don't think it applies to someone like me who wouldn't be in any danger with my amount, speed and length of run. Water is fine.

exotic fruit - did you read the page you have just qioted at me? This is what it says one and a half lines after the bit you copied and pasted!

"Infants and children who are dehydrated shouldn't be given water as the main replacement fluid because it can further dilute the minerals in their body and make the problem worse. Instead, they should be given diluted squash, diluted fruit juice or a special rehydration solution."

That was talking about severe dehydration Crabapple!

it's the same for preventing dehydration

There is a big difference between dehydration and being thirsty. A distinction that many parents nowadays seem to miss.

Indeed. The main thing surely is avoid getting dehydrated in the first place by making sure you drink enough. Tap water is just fine for that, and as many of us have pointed out a number of times in this thread, no one drinks 'pure water' (apart from the fact it is hard to get hold of, it's really rather nasty). In order to get H2O you have to distill water (otherwise it contains varying amounts of minerals) generally speaking the only places with lots of distilled water is a lab, and that's not because scientists like to chug it!

Crabapple

I don't normally admit to this on here but

I am medically trained to consultant level, and I've never ever been told not to give a healthy child or adult water if thirsty, or that squash is preferable.

In a seriously ill dehydrated child or adult an electrolyte solution can be given orally, or more usually in this country by an IV infusion.

You are talking about 2 different things. You should keep your body hydrated by drinking. If you are thirsty your body is already telling you that you are moderately dehydrated and a drink will solve it.Water is fine. Water is fine for moderate athletes. 5K is the maximum that I run and water is fine.
I have seen seriously ill DCs and as OriginalPoster they need more than water. I dare say that atheletes who push the body to extremes need more than water.
I don't see that saying pure water isn't a natural substance has any relevance-it is the main constituent of squash! (or any drink)
The foreign office are bound to advise against water-a lot of the world doesn't have our access to clean water.
Having been a blood donor as recent as yesterday I can tell you that it is utter nonsense that you are discouraged from water-it was the first thing on offer.
The child at the party is better off with water than special supplies of organic juice.

Crabapple99 Wed 30-Nov-11 21:54:34
"and pure water is an unnatural substance!"

If by pure water you mean distilled water, then you are right. But that is not the stuff that comes out of the tap and that your hostess is going to dish up at parties if you ask her nicely. The water that comes out of the tap or is sold in bottles is the same natural source of hydration that the human body is designed to make use of: the stuff found in lakes, streams, rivers and wells. It contains minerals needed by the body, including some salts.

I have no idea where you would get hold of "pure", i.e. distilled water, probably in very small containers at the chemist's. It's not something you need to worry about because it's not the stuff that anybody actually drinks.

same natural source of hydration that the human body is designed to make use of: the stuff found in lakes, streams, rivers and wells. It contains minerals needed by the body, including some salts

Exactly, cory. All mammals drink water, that's one of the most basic things we do.

I'm giving up banging my head against this particular brick wall now...

Okay, I've now read all the back-story on the current tangent.

As it happens, I did A-level Biology, and I think there's a little misunderstanding of terms and scale going on!

It is true that plain, clean water isn't enough for actual dehydration, in the medical sense, as opposed to a drama llama eclaiming, ?Oh, I'm so dehydrated?, after sitting on a park bench for half an hour. A child running around at a party (especially at an air-conditioned sports centre) is not becoming dehydrated. They are getting thirsty.

It is true that humans did not evolve to drink distilled water. But tap water is not distilled. It is merely clean. (What the merry hell am I doing, saying "merely"? Mothers and fathers across the developing world are desperate for it. Consider giving to Water Aid this month, if you have any money spare. )

Ah, x-posted with every body else.

YANBU. I don't buy squash, but I would very happily let DS drink squash at a party. It's a one off, bringing your own organic juice, is just rude, and playing one up man ship.

I think that it gets back to my original comment that it sounds like information put out by the manufacturers of sports drinks. I bet there is big money in it and incentives to promote it. Most people can manage perfectly well with tap water.Water is the natural drink-people used to get it from wells. We started drinking other things because it wasn't always clean.
I agree that you would be better giving money to water aid than lining the pockets of sport's drink manufacturers.

More bullshit peddled by big business. They've managed to convince us that tap water isn't good enough, to the massive detriment the planet. Then they convinced us that it was dangerous to refill plastic water bottles. Now they are working on getting us to believe that even bottled water isn't good enough.

Time to fight, sisters!

Right on, seeker!!

Well said, LeQueen.

However, I have learnt something from this thread, partly thanks to crabapple's post about dehydration being a drop in volume and not concentration, and realise I made a misleading statement about what you should drink when you have D&V.

Obviously, in order to replace fluid in the correct concentration, you need the missing salts as well as the missing water, so just drinking water with no food intake will not be sufficient to avod becoming dehydrated (sorry for implying otherwise in my previous post).

What DH said was that he had read (in a textbook on nutrition) that adding glucose to the fluid consumed has no effect (I don't know whether that means on levels of hydration or on outcome/duration of illness). I would assume that means diluted squash or juice or flat lemonade are not better than tap or mineral water.