Hypotension: Expert advises regular water intake for prevention
Dr Stephanie Eleojo, a physician at Jerab Hospital, Gwagwalada, has advised Nigerians to take water regularly to prevent hypotension, also known as Low Blood Pressure (LBP).
Eleojo, who gave the advice when she spoke with newsmen on Monday in Abuja, explained that taking enough water would help the body organs to function well.
She said that regular intake of water helped replenish fluid lost while talking or breathing.
According to her, the body is made up of 60 per cent fluid and any loss of water leads to shortage of blood in the body system.
“Healthy or not, take lots of water and in this tropical region, we advise women to aim for two to three litres of water and men three to four litres daily and if ill, step it up a bit.
“LBP can be caused by several factors such as bleeding, dehydration, vomiting and purging.
“People who die due to accident most times die of hypotension because they bleed out and lose lots of their blood.
“So, whatever that was remaining did not have enough pressure to get to the other parts of the body.
“Also, this is what happens in cholera, people lose lots of water through stooling and vomiting, then there is not enough fluid to take blood round the body.
“The blood pressure decreases and gradually having organ malfunction, they die,” she said.
She further explained that LBP, though not as common as hypertension was very deadly, hence it must be taken seriously.
According to her, there are people whose blood pressure is naturally lower than what is considered normal blood pressure and they pay greater attention to them.
“The optimal blood pressure for systolic is 120mmHg and for the diastolic between 80mmHg, anything below that will be considered hypotension but usually we quote hypotension below 90/60mmHg,’’she said.
Eleojo further likened the heart to a water reservoir that was to supply water to a town but the pressure from the reservoir was not strong enough to get water to everyone in that town.
“The organs that are far from the heart when the pressure is low are the hardest hit, meaning they do not get enough blood supply, oxygen and nutrient,” she said.
She, therefore, advised Nigerians to be conscious of their health and go to the nearest health centre when they noticed changes in their body system, urging them also to be mindful of what they eat.
“Be careful of what you eat because what causes vomiting and diarrhea are usually from what we eat and drink but if you must eat sanitise your hands.
“If you notice that you are purging, vomiting, having headache or feeling dizzy quickly go to the nearest hospital or health centre they will help you.
“If you cannot prevent and hydrate yourself from getting low blood pressure, the best thing is to get help fast because hypotension kills,” she said.
Eleojo added that it was important the precautions were taken to prevent running to health centre seeking for help.
