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Electrolytes are minerals that have an electric charge when they are dissolved in water or body fluids, including blood. The electric charge can be positive or negative. You have electrolytes in your blood, urine (pee), tissues, and other body fluids.

Electrolytes are important because they help:

• Balance the amount of water in your body
• Balance your body's acid/base (pH) level
• Move nutrients into your cells
• Move wastes out of your cells
• Support your muscle and nerve function
• Keep your heart rate and rhythm steady
• Keep your blood pressure stable
• Keep your bones and teeth healthy

The main electrolytes in your body include:

• Bicarbonate, which helps maintain the body's acid and base balance (pH). It also plays an important role in moving carbon dioxide through the bloodstream.
• Calcium, which helps make and keep bones and teeth strong.
• Chloride, which also helps control the amount of fluid in the body. In addition, it helps maintain healthy blood volume and blood pressure.
• Magnesium, which helps your muscles, nerves, and heart work properly. It also helps control blood pressure and blood glucose (blood sugar).
• Phosphate, which works together with calcium to build strong bones and teeth.
• Potassium, which helps your cells, heart, and muscles work properly.
• Sodium, which helps control the amount of fluid in the body. It also helps your nerves and muscles work properly.

You get these electrolytes from the foods you eat and the fluids you drink.

An electrolyte imbalance means that the level of one or more electrolytes in your body is too low or too high. It can happen when the amount of water in your body changes. The amount of water that you take in should equal the amount you lose. If something upsets this balance, you may have too little water (dehydration) or too much water (overhydration). Some of the more common reasons why you might have an imbalance of the water in your body include:

• Certain medicines
• Severe vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Heavy sweating
• Heart, liver or kidney problems
• Not drinking enough fluids, especially when doing intense exercise or when the weather is very hot
• Drinking too much water

The names of the different types of electrolyte imbalances are:

A test called an electrolyte panel can check the levels of your body's main electrolytes. A related test, the anion gap blood test, checks whether your electrolytes are out of balance or if your blood is too acidic or not acidic enough.

The treatment for an electrolyte imbalance depends on which electrolytes are out of balance, if there is too little or too many, and what is causing the imbalance. In minor cases, you may just need to make some changes to your diet. In other cases, you may need other treatments. For example:

• If you don't have enough of an electrolyte, you may get electrolyte replacement therapy. This involves giving you more of that electrolyte. It could be a medicine or supplement that you swallow or drink, or it may be given intravenously (by IV).
• If you have too much of an electrolyte, your provider may give you medicines or fluids (by mouth or by IV) to help remove that electrolyte from your body. In severe cases, you may need dialysis to filter out the electrolyte.

Dehydration is a condition caused by the loss of too much fluid from the body. It happens when you are losing more fluids than you are taking in, and your body does not have enough fluids to work properly.

You can become dehydrated because of:

• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Sweating too much
• Urinating too much, which can happen because of certain medicines and illnesses
• Fever
• Not drinking enough water or other fluids

Certain people are more likely to develop dehydration:

• Older adults. Some people lose their sense of thirst as they age, so they don't drink enough fluids.
• Infants and young children, who are more likely to have diarrhea or vomiting
• People with chronic illnesses that cause them to urinate or sweat more often, such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis, or kidney problems
• People who take medicines that cause them to urinate or sweat more
• People who exercise or work outdoors during hot weather

In adults, the symptoms of dehydration include:

• Feeling very thirsty
• Dry mouth
• Urinating and sweating less than usual
• Dark-colored urine
• Dry skin
• Feeling tired
• Dizziness

In infants and young children, the symptoms of dehydration include:

• Dry mouth and tongue
• Crying without tears
• No wet diapers for 3 hours or more
• A high fever
• Being unusually sleepy or drowsy
• Irritability
• Eyes that look sunken

Dehydration can be mild, or it can be severe enough to be life-threatening. Get medical help right away if the symptoms also include:

• Confusion
• Fainting
• Lack of urination
• Rapid heartbeat
• Rapid breathing
• Shock

To find out if you dehydration, your health care provider will:

• Do a physical exam
• Check your vital signs
• Ask about your symptoms

Your provider may also order tests, such as:

• Blood tests to check your electrolyte levels, especially potassium and sodium. Electrolytes are minerals in your body that have an electric charge. They have many important jobs, including helping to keep a balance of fluids in your body.
• Blood tests to check your kidney function.
• Urine tests to check for dehydration and its cause.

The treatment for dehydration is to replace the fluids and electrolytes that you have lost. For mild cases, you may just need to drink lots of water. If you lost electrolytes, sports drinks may help. There are also oral rehydration solutions for children. You can buy those without a prescription.

Severe cases may be treated with intravenous (IV) fluids with salt in a hospital.

The key to preventing dehydration is making sure that you get enough fluids:

• Drink enough water every day. Each person's needs can be different, so ask your health care provider how much you should be drinking each day.
• Avoid drinks that have sugar and caffeine.
• Drink extra fluids when the weather is hot, especially if you are exercising or working outside. If you are losing a lot of minerals in sweat, sports drinks can help you. But some sports drinks have lots of sugar, so be careful not to drink too much of them.
• Get extra fluids when you are sick. If you are having trouble keeping liquids down, you can try taking small sips of water or sucking on ice chips.

Diabetes insipidus (DI) causes frequent urination. You become extremely thirsty, so you drink. Then you urinate. This cycle can keep you from sleeping or even make you wet the bed. Your body produces lots of urine that is almost all water.

DI is different from diabetes mellitus (DM), which involves insulin problems and high blood sugar. The symptoms can be similar. However, DI is related to how your kidneys handle fluids. It's much less common than DM. Urine and blood tests can show which one you have.

Usually, DI is caused by a problem with your pituitary gland or your kidneys. Treatment depends on the cause of the problem. Medicines can often help.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Your kidneys make urine by filtering wastes and extra water from your blood. The waste is called urea. Your blood carries it to the kidneys. From the kidneys, urine travels down two thin tubes called ureters to the bladder. The bladder stores urine until you are ready to urinate. It swells into a round shape when it is full and gets smaller when empty. If your urinary system is healthy, your bladder can hold up to 16 ounces (2 cups) of urine comfortably for 2 to 5 hours.

You may have problems with urination if you have:

• Kidney failure
• Urinary tract infections
• An enlarged prostate
• Bladder control problems like incontinence, overactive bladder, or interstitial cystitis
• A blockage that prevents you from emptying your bladder

Some conditions may also cause you to have blood or protein in your urine. If you have a urinary problem, see your health care provider. Urinalysis and other urine tests can help to diagnose the problem. Treatment depends on the cause.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases