Dehydration – A Medical Emergency

Yesterday the Coast Guard airlifted a teenage boy from a sailboat 125 miles offshore, off Cape Cod, after the boy began to suffer the effects of dehydration. He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

Although the Coast Guard report did not specify the cause of his dehydration, it almost certainly resulted, as it usually does on a boat, from repeated bouts of vomiting due to seasickness.

If you’re not sure whether you or a crew member may experience seasickness when conditions get rough, don’t take chances. Use a remedy to prevent seasickness if possible. This may mean you have to experiment with different remedies to learn which works best for you.

Dehydration can become a medical emergency. Learn what symptoms to watch for.