Dehydration treatment in Phuket
Between the heat, the humidity, the alcohol and the stomach bugs, almost everybody here runs a fluid deficit at some point. Dehydration treatment in Phuket ranges from a sachet of salts to an hour on a drip, and the useful skill is knowing which one you are dealing with.
How to tell how far behind you are
Mild: thirsty, dry mouth, urine darker than usual, a slight headache. Entirely fixable by drinking properly for an hour.
Moderate: dizzy on standing, urine dark and infrequent, tired and headachy, cramping in the legs, skin slow to spring back when pinched.
Severe: no urine for eight hours or more, a racing pulse, confusion, unusual sleepiness, sunken eyes, and in a child no tears when crying. That needs treating rather than managing.
What causes it here
Sweating in this humidity, which is constant and which people underestimate because they do not feel dripping wet.
- Vomiting or diarrhoea, which is the fastest route by a wide margin
- Alcohol, particularly in afternoon heat
- Long flights and dry cabin air on arrival day
- Fever, which increases fluid loss substantially
- Diuretics and some blood pressure medication
- Simply not drinking, which is the commonest cause of all
Several of those stack, which is why day three of a holiday with a stomach bug and a hangover is a well-known combination.
Doing it by mouth, properly
Oral rehydration salts are the correct product. The balance of glucose and sodium is designed to be absorbed even when the gut is inflamed, which plain water is not.
Sip small amounts continuously rather than drinking a glass at a time. This matters most when there is vomiting, and it is the reason most people wrongly conclude they cannot keep anything down.
Coconut water is a reasonable natural option and is everywhere here. Sports drinks are worse than they look — high in sugar, low in sodium.
When a vein is the answer
Vomiting that has defeated an hour of patient sipping. No urine for eight hours. Dizziness that does not lift on lying down. A child who has gone floppy.
A litre of the right fluid over about an hour, with something for the nausea, and the difference is usually obvious before the bag is finished.
Available at any branch or in your room at whatever hour — see IV drips.
The salt problem
Heavy sweating loses sodium, and replacing only water dilutes what is left. In the extreme that causes hyponatraemia, which produces headache, nausea, confusion and can be dangerous.
It is uncommon, but it happens to endurance runners, to people drinking very large volumes of plain water in the heat, and occasionally to people recovering from severe diarrhoea.
Where somebody has been severely depleted, blood tests confirm what is actually low rather than leaving it to guesswork — see blood tests.
Children, where hours matter
Small children have less reserve and lose it faster. A child with vomiting and diarrhoea can go from lively to seriously dehydrated inside a day.
Watch for fewer wet nappies, no tears, a dry mouth, unusual sleepiness or a sunken soft spot in a baby.
Rehydration solution by syringe, five millilitres every few minutes, works better than a cup and is worth persisting with — see paediatric care.
Older travellers and the ones on medication
Thirst becomes a less reliable signal as people get older, which means somebody in their seventies can be meaningfully depleted while feeling no particular urge to reach for a glass.
Diuretics, some blood pressure drugs and diabetes medication all increase the risk, and dehydration in turn affects how those drugs behave.
Anyone with kidney disease, diabetes or heart failure should be assessed sooner rather than later, because the margin is narrower — see doctor hotel visits.
The hangover version
Alcohol suppresses the hormone that tells the kidneys to retain water, which is why the morning after produces a headache, a dry mouth and a general sense of having been emptied out.
Add tropical heat and a late night and the deficit is substantial. This is why so many people here feel far worse than the same amount of drinking would produce at home.
Salts and time work. So does a drip if the day cannot be written off — see hangover treatment.
Keeping ahead of it
Two to three litres a day as a floor, more when active, and drink on a schedule rather than waiting to feel thirsty. Thirst arrives late.
Something with salt alongside — rehydration sachets, coconut water, salty food. Carry water rather than planning to buy it.
Alternate alcoholic drinks with water, and keep an eye on urine colour, which is the only feedback most people will get.
Where dehydration is a warning sign
It is often a symptom of something else. Persistent vomiting, a high fever, severe diarrhoea or dengue all cause it, and treating the fluid without asking why is only half the job.
Blood sugar, kidney function and electrolytes are checked where the picture warrants it.
Anything not responding to fluid, or anyone deteriorating despite it, goes to a hospital — see hospital transfer.
Getting seen
A doctor comes to your accommodation with everything needed to assess and treat, including a drip, at any hour.
All three branches take walk-ins around the clock — Bang Tao, Kata and Patong.
Documentation for a claim is produced at the time, which matters when a day or two of a trip has been lost — see travel insurance claims.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know how bad it is?
Mild means thirst and dark urine. Moderate adds dizziness and cramps. No urine for eight hours, confusion or a racing pulse is severe.
Is water enough?
Not when losses are heavy. Sodium goes too, and water alone dilutes what remains. Use rehydration salts or salty food alongside.
Are sports drinks any good?
Not really. Too much sugar and too little sodium, and the sugar can make diarrhoea worse. Coconut water is better.
When do I need a drip?
When an hour of steady sipping has failed, when there has been no urine for eight hours, or when a child has gone floppy.
How much should I drink daily here?
Two to three litres minimum, more when active. Drink on a schedule — thirst arrives after you are already behind.
My child is not weeing much.
That is an early sign. Start rehydration solution by syringe, five millilitres at a time, and get them seen if it does not turn around.
Why do hangovers feel worse here?
Alcohol blocks the hormone that retains water, and tropical heat adds to the deficit. The combination is far more depleting than at home.
Can somebody treat me at my hotel?
Yes — assessment, salts, anti-emetics and a drip if needed, in your own room, at any hour.
Three clinics, none of which close
English-speaking doctors, on duty 24 hours a day. Phuket is bigger than visitors expect and the traffic is worse than the map suggests, so Takecare Medical Clinic works from three separate buildings rather than one: Bang Tao on the north-west coast, Kata in the south, and Patong between them. Each is open every hour of every day, takes people without an appointment, and asks nothing about residency or referrals.
Beyond the island, Takecare Medical Clinic is one of the Takecare Clinic group‘s clinics working across Phuket, Krabi and Chon Buri. That matters mainly for what happens afterwards: move on mid-treatment and the next clinic already holds the notes, so a handover is a call between colleagues rather than a folder you carry through an airport.
Getting seen, and how to choose a branch
There is somebody on the end of +66 81 718 9080 or WhatsApp 24 hours, every day. Say what has gone wrong and the reply will be honest about which of three things you are dealing with: come in now, this will keep until the morning, or skip us entirely and go where there is a surgeon. No appointment exists to be made, and there is no hour at which asking is a nuisance.
Pick whichever branch is nearest rather than whichever sounds largest — they run the same hours and carry the same equipment. Patong suits the west-coast beaches and Bangla Road, Kata covers Karon and the south, and Bang Tao serves Layan, Surin and Cherngtalay. Cannot get out to a clinic? Ask for a doctor hotel visit instead and somebody comes to your room. And if what you need turns out to be beyond any clinic, referral and hospital transfer is arranged from the same conversation. You are made stable before anybody moves you, a colleague rings ahead so the team on the other end knows what is arriving, and the transport is organised for you rather than handed over as one more thing to sort out.