our first Community conversation today we're joined by Kelly Hughes with Canta Martha Jefferson hospital she's sitting down with Aaron thank you Steve and Kelly thanks for coming in today of course good to be here yeah it's always good to have you and um you know it's just it's so hot out there we've had we've had a little bit of a relief in the past few days but it's heating back up pretty soon here and I think a lot of us know that it's just it's hot hot hot hot that's the that's the key word of of the day here um so today we want to talk about the importance of hydration especially in this heat and especially for people living with diabetes um so can you share why hydration is so important for people with diabetes and other endocrine uh disorders absolutely and I would start out by saying hydration is super important for everybody everybody should hydrate but when you have diabetes in particular dehydration causes your blood glucose to go higher and that can cause problems right people get extreme high glucose it the actual the glucose concentration in your blood goes higher when you're dehydrated and so that can cause specific metabolic problem s that can require hospitalization and it can really stress out the kidneys too and that can be a problem for people with diabetes because they already probably have some kidney dysfunction or they're kind of headed that way so we want to just keep people with diabetes Well hydrated absolutely and what are some of the signs of dehydration that's such a good question for everybody it can be headaches it can be even mild thirst can be a sign that you're already starting to get dehydrated people can get dizzy laded kind of feel faint or actually faint and then people might just feel really hot and they You Can't Sweat very well and that's the body's cooling mechanism gotcha so so that's a sign that you need to get some water some electrolytes in your body exactly that is a sign that you have got to start drinking and you really shouldn't wait until you're thirsty gotcha I think that's that's the key I think a lot of people wait until they feel that thirst but like you said it's dehydration has already kicked in at that point it's already starting you're already starting to be volumed down when that thirst reflect kicking in telling you better drink now and the body knows best the body knows best listen that's right and what are some effective strategies for staying hydrated especially in this type of heat that we've been having lately I love this question I brought my water bottle nice you know what have a water bottle fill it up keep it full keep it cold put whatever you want and like to drink in it and have some goals I people laugh at me but I always set hydration goals with my patients and so this kind of water bottle is actually 3 8 oz glasses or 24 o so eat two or three of these a day and you're doing pretty good but you got to have a plan have some patients they keep the 16 oz bottles and I have them Sharpie one two three four and they need to get to the bottom of their four bottles by the time the day is over so setting goals and and being mindful about having a plan that's smart and I've seen those water bottles that that have like the tickers isn't that nice that's a really good one and a simple one this is from the dollar store but just something that you can keep track of it but paying attention that you've got it full don't walk out of the house in this heat and not have a drink on you that's smart that is smart and what specific tips can you offer for for managing hydration while engaging in outdoor activities or just traveling this summer yeah you know what is always have your water with you absolutely and to if you're feeling thirsty start drinking more so you really want to just hyper hydrate when it's in this weather if you're sweating a lot and moving a lot just it can't be overstated the importance of having it ready it's you need a little bit of a plan don't be stuck without and I like that hyper hydrate I like that yeah it feels like hyper hydrate but it's really what your body needs right yeah good tips there thank you so much Kelly we appreciate you uh giving us all those tips and I'm going to go buy a water bottle after this perfect awesome good to talk to you absolutely thank you so much and uh Steve back over to you