# Can a toddler die from de-hydration? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856 "2008-04-18T07:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/1 "2008-04-18T07:08:45Z")
[2 accused in dehydration death of Connecticut toddler](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jC7CrJc0OnVfqVsmQB86sf7mrvKAD90373500) If the toddler is fed fruit and vegetables and ‘normal’ food surely the kid would not dies from de-hydration, would he? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/2 "2008-04-18T07:18:13Z")
Just food and no extra fluids? Yes, it’s entirely possible, If the food included a _lot_ of fruit, then it might be OK. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/3 "2008-04-18T07:22:09Z")
Certainly could. If the kid ate nothing but very moist fruits like grapes and watermelon, he or she might last longer than the week or so that the article cited, but it sure wouldn’t be healthy. Anything salty like chips, lunchmeat, or crackers could completely negate the gains in water from the fruit. Besides, I’m not even sure that eating all that fruit would help- fruits have lots of natural sugars, and sugars can dehydrate you too. Ever notice how you get thirsty sometimes after eating ice cream? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/4 "2008-04-18T07:28:33Z")
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**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/5 "2008-04-18T07:36:19Z")
I found [this](http://www.coca.com.au/newsletter/2004/jun0411a.htm) about the myth of drinking 8 glasses of water per day. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/6 "2008-04-18T07:42:40Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I found [this](http://www.coca.com.au/newsletter/2004/jun0411a.htm) about the myth of drinking 8 glasses of water per day. [/QUOTE] Sure, but that’s: -Talking about adults -Still not saying you can get away with drinking _nothing at all_. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/7 "2008-04-18T10:58:59Z")
On a related question, here’s Cecil on [Can Man Live on Bread Alone](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_209.html). ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/8 "2008-04-18T13:09:51Z")
Yes and that’s how the kid died, so there is an example of it. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/9 "2008-04-18T14:12:24Z")
Judging from the description of the two loser “caretakers,” I doubt they were stuffing him full of fresh produce every day. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/10 "2008-04-18T22:46:08Z")
I understand them saying he died of dehydration if it was extremely hot and he was given nothing to drink. But there is no indication of this. So why is not it described as the boy dying of malnutrition. That Cecil column says that if a person lived on just bread, thirst would not be the worst problem. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/11 "2008-04-18T23:01:47Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I understand them saying he died of dehydration if it was extremely hot and he was given nothing to drink. But there is no indication of this. So why is not it described as the boy dying of malnutrition. That Cecil column says that if a person lived on just bread, thirst would not be the worst problem. [/QUOTE] This explains some it: [http://www.jdaross.cwc.net/fluid2.htm](http://www.jdaross.cwc.net/fluid2.htm) ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/12 "2008-04-18T23:10:00Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I understand them saying he died of dehydration if it was extremely hot and he was given nothing to drink. But there is no indication of this. So why is not it described as the boy dying of malnutrition. That Cecil column says that if a person lived on just bread, thirst would not be the worst problem. [/QUOTE] Because he didn’t die of malnutrition- he died of dehydration. Malnutrition occurs when a person isn’t given enough (or healthy enough) food to survive. The kid was given plenty of food. But the kid wasn’t given enough water, and so he died of that. It’s not like you can just stop peeing and have zero water loss. You sweat, moisture evaporates from your mucus membranes, you exhale moisture when you exhale, and so on. Even if you could avoid losing moisture to that, your body uses water to process food, and so you need a constant influx of water to be able to digest. You simply can’t suck the amount of water you need out of any food (except, possibly, watermelon, very salt-light soups, and other foods that have an extremely high water content). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/13 "2008-04-18T23:39:53Z")
Dehydration has historically been **the major cause of infant death**. Recent advances have dropped it to the #2 cause of death, behind pneumonia. Death rates used to be around 1/5 of the children born would not survive to their first birthday. Since 1960, that has improved to less than 1/10th of infants dying that soon. Currently, worldwide, there is probably only 60-70 children dying per hour. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/14 "2008-04-19T02:45:40Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] your body uses water to process food, and so you need a constant influx of water to be able to digest. [/QUOTE] This is important. In survival situations, I have been advised that if you have food but no water, _don’t eat_, at least until the “eat or die” stage. You HAVE to find a water source. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/15 "2008-04-19T06:19:56Z")
While adult bodies are composed of about 60% water, a toddler has closer to 85% water. They also have less insulating fat to help maintain fluid balance. Therefore, they are much more dependent on fluid replacement. ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-toddler-die-from-de-hydration/445856/16 "2008-04-19T20:47:27Z")
Peds also have a much greater surface area:volume ratio than adults. In addition, [their skin conducts heat better than adults.](http://books.google.com/books?id=rIQ3HSEstm0C&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=pediatrics+greater+surface+area+skin+volume+ratio&source=web&ots=-8EbVh5Qug&sig=hnhiFMhavFmFnHFNFFVZ1VsE630&hl=en)