Dehydration - a side effect of a burn injury

Immediately after the accident I was given plenty of fluids intravenously. Severe or widespread burns can cause loss of body fluid as the skin has been breached and simply can't keep it in anymore.

The first days in the hospital I was constantly thirsty. It was the sort of thirst you get after drinking way too much red wine the night before and your body and mouth feels parched.

However, once I got back on my feet I did think that the dehydration was something that would quickly pass. Today, the accident was exactly three months ago and I am still dehydrated!

For those of you recovering from an injury like this, do make sure you drink plenty. I have found it's better to drink consistently instead of a whole lot of water at once. This is probably because the body is not retaining the water as it should and it slowly gets lost, needing constant top-up.

I did have a day where I didn't drink much and I paid the price by developing Cystitus overnight. I couldn't salvage the situation and it started to travel up my kidneys, resulting in pain, fever, an emergency trip to the Doctors and more antibiotics!

I don't know how long this phase will last. I have to avoid too much caffeine and pretty much no alcohol. I had a glass of wine the other night (what a luxury!) and I could feel the liquids almost seeping out of me! I was dehydrated immediately and spent the rest of the night hoovering up water.

If you have noticed this or experienced this yourself, do let me know. It would be great to get an indication of how long this lasts. I guess it's different for each person but I just didn't expect to find this symptom enduring such a long hold over me.