Do Dehydration Headaches Have Your Head Throbbing?

The human body is a delicate ecosystem. Too much of this, not enough of that, next thing you know your head is beating faster than your heart. Headaches can be debilitating. You’re in the office, at school, or—heaven forbid—on a weekend getaway, when that telltale feeling creeps up on you from behind. Headaches can appear suddenly and last forever (or at least feel like it). Approximately 9 out of 10 adults will experience a headache at some point in their life. 

Picture this: your head is throbbing. You reach for an ibuprofen and hope for the best. Depending on headache severity, an over the counter pain reliever may help to ease the discomfort. If you’re lucky, you’ll forget about it altogether and continue on with your day. In an ideal world, you might stop to consider what’s causing this cranial chaos. In the real world, there’s work to be done, errands to run, kids to pick up from school, and some other important thing you said you’d do but can’t remember. But what if that headache is really a symptom of something else, like dehydration?

The Deets on Dehydration

We often hear about migraine, tension, and cluster headaches, yet dehydration headaches don’t get the airtime they deserve. From long work days with endless cups of coffee to hot weather and poor diet, it’s no wonder that an estimated 75% of Americans may be chronically dehydrated. Dehydration occurs when the body loses more fluid than it takes in. The condition is commonly associated with stomach flu, fever, and extreme heat. Because of this, we’re trained to look out for signs of dehydration when a friend or family member gets sick. It’s also worth noting that young children and elderly adults are at greater risk of becoming dehydrated, though no one is immune. 

Step 1: Identifying a Dehydration Headache

So, how can you tell if you’re suffering from a dehydration headache or something else entirely? Mild to moderate dehydration manifests differently from person to person. Symptoms can range from inconvenient (dry mouth and chapped lips) to downright painful (headache and muscle cramps). Dehydration can also be a trigger for people who suffer from migraines.

A dehydration headache won’t feel the same for everyone, though it may feel a bit like a hangover or tension headache. Also, dehydration headaches don’t typically cause pain in the face or back of the neck. If you’re still not sure what you did to deserve this splitting headache, consider the following: is your mouth dry? Are your lips chapped? Do you feel dizzy? When was the last time you peed? Remember, a headache is rarely the only symptom of dehydration.

Step 2: How to Deal

So you do have a dehydration headache—now what? A dehydration headache is a late-stage indicator that you need to replenish lost fluid. Water is always your friend. But when playing catch-up, even the most loyal friends need a bit of backup. That’s why we developed Cellular Transport Technology (CTT®), which can deliver hydration and key wellness ingredients to the bloodstream 2-3x times faster than water alone. CTT® is based on science pioneered by the World Health Organization for Oral Rehydration Solution. It uses a precise ratio of sodium, glucose, and potassium to create an osmotic force that allows water and other ingredients to be delivered to the bloodstream earlier on in the digestive system.

As a society, we’re trained to identify and combat dehydration only in the most obvious and dire circumstances. By tackling the headache with Ibuprofen rather than addressing the dehydration at its root, we do ourselves a disservice in the long run. Choosing the band-aid solution can also mean we miss out on proper hydration in our everyday lives. Most people don’t even experience thirst until they’re already dehydrated, so only sipping when the mood strikes you won’t cut it. 

Don’t wait for a dehydration headache before you start hydrating. You may be a gym rat who lives for a good sweat or an outdoor enthusiast trekking your way up a mountaintop. Or maybe you’re just you—working hard, trudging through your daily grind while trying to stay awake and engaged without hitting the 3 o’clock slump. Either way, modern living can be a lot. Hydration Multiplier is a great way to stay on top of hydration every day—ideally before your head starts pounding.