Doctor reveals simple 'pinch test' that can tell if you're dehydrated within seconds
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Kinga Krzeminska/Getty/Getty Stock Image
There's an easy hack you can do to check if you dehydrated or not.
According to the National Library of Medicine, 17 to 28 percent of adult Americans experience dehydration and is a frequent cause of hospital admissions.
And drinking water becomes increasingly more important as you get older, says the National Council on Aging, and those aged 60 and over are more likely to be dehydrated.
While its more important to keep on top of your fluids as you age, it's still vital that you drink enough water at all ages.
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As per Mayo Clinic, men should have 3.7 litres of fluids a day, while women should be aiming for 2.7 litres.
Admittedly, not many people really track how much water they're having (myself included), but a doctor has shared an easy way of checking if you're dehydrated or not.
Taking to TikTok, Dr. Myro Figura explained the 'pinch test' where a person pinches the skin on their hand to see if it stays up, or goes back down straight away.
The official name for the test is the Tugor pinch test, says Dr. Figura.
"When you're dehydrated, your extra cellular space contracts and that reduces your skin elasticity," the medical expert explained, "so when you pinch your skin like this it'll stay up because you're dehydrated."
The clip used in the background of Dr. Figura's video shows someone using the skin of the back of their fingers, but he explained that you should do the test using the skin on the back of your hand instead.
Other symptoms of dehydration to watch out for are less frequent urination, dark colored urine, fatigue and dizziness.
And if you experience any extreme symptoms, like diarrhea or not being able to keep down fluids, then you should seek medical attention.
As you probably know, the more you drink, the more you need to pee and there's apparently a 21 second rule we should go by when relieving yourself.
A paper published back in 2014 looked at the time it takes for various different animals of various different weights, and the results helped give an idea of how it all should be for humans too.
Apparently around 21 seconds is the sweet spot for how long you should be peeing for, and if you're doing so for much longer or much quicker, it could signify that you're either relieving yourself too often or holding in your wee for too long.
You could have an overactive bladder if you're going to the toilet too often. On the other hand, if you're not going enough when you need it, you could end up getting kidney stones.
As a rule of thumb, if you drink eight glasses of water a day then you should pee eight times a day, says urologist Nicole Eisenbrown.