Hydration and Psoriasis

Hydration and psoriasis can be a tricky situation, particularly when traveling. Recently, I traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate on Capitol Hill. In order to be ready, I tried hard to think of everything I could do ahead of traveling like packing comfy clothes, dress clothes, accessories, and toiletries, keeping my psoriasis in mind.

Pre-planning for my health

Once I knew for sure that I was going, I decided to drink extra water before the trip. Drinking extra water will ensure that I am well-hydrated. Starting three days before I got on my flight, I decided to drink one of these boxed hydration drinks. This drink advertises being like an I.V. My mind thought back to other times that I traveled and afterwards how I made a trip to the ER for I.V. hydration. When reading more, I decide it seems like a great idea. My psoriasis tends to cause me to have trouble with hydration.

The drink itself is supposed to taste like tropical punch. When I was young, that was one of my favorite flavors. I add the packet to regular cold water and stir it up till the powder dissolved. Wow, that smells good. My first sip I notice the tropical flavor. Okay that seems to be okay. Mmm a little salty but over all doable.

One thing I know for sure is that my body always uses up extra water since I have psoriasis. Psoriasis effects the biggest organ for your body... your skin! The water you drink is soaked up by your organs, but because your psoriasis is chronically dry it requires more than the average person. It causes me to drink more glasses of water then I ever thought I would require. A normal amount of good hydration is 6-8 glasses of water a day. My mind could not comprehend that. That amount seemed insane to me as a 22 year old. Now I am learning that it is definitely true for my body. Drinking 2 or 3 glasses a day seemed insurmountable. Now, I drink more like 4-6 daily.

Feeling hydrated

This trip is a total of 4 days, albeit a very busy 3 days. There is my travel day when I'm getting up early and arriving into the hotel late. Training is the next day. I keep reminding myself to push fluids and eat responsibly. Hopefully, I am good now for the big day on the hill. Day 3 I am up early, at the hotel for my final training. This is it the whole reason I am here. A very full day with a some breaks. Again I try to keep up the fluids but today it is pretty hard with back to back meetings, walking and being nervous. Back at the hotel I am pretty sure that I did my best.

As of this writing, my trip is winding up and I will be home in a couple hours. I didn't realize how much all of this would take out of me. I am so tired. I think I will just close my eyes for a minute while on this flight. As we land and I meet up with my family, I feel like I am so heavy feeling. I notice that I am bloating.

Another drink to help hydration

After being home, I think that my body may be starting to suffer a bit from hydration. This is when I decide to follow up with another one of these I.V. hydration drinks. After I drink it, I noticed in the next 24 hours how much my legs and fingers are swelling. This concerns me. Overall, I feel okay but am still wondering about the swelling.

I reach out to my doctor who tells me that I need to check with my cardiologist. The hydration drink may have caused the extra swelling. Unfortunately, there was nothing on the box that warned of the high salt content causing problems when you have a heart condition. My advice is contact your doctor prior to trying to help yourself with hydration. You may add to your problem. Your doctor will be able to advise you of the right hydration boost for you.