When you pinch the skin on your hand, it should spring back to normal once you let go.

How quickly it returns to normal is how it’s possible for you to measure your skin turgor.

Verywell / Jessica Olah

Causes

Assessing skin turgor can be a way to diagnose dehydration.

When our skin lacks moisture, it cant function as well as it normally does.

Well-hydrated skin has less friction between its fibers because the water acts as a lubricant.

When our skin is dehydrated, it feels stiff and cant spring back after being pulled or pinched.

Your practitioner will gently pinch your skin and then time how fast it snaps back into place.

A similar test your healthcare provider may perform is your capillary refill time.

The longer your skin takes to spring back, the more dehydrated you could be.

People with chronic illnesses or those who exercise outdoors in heat are also at higher risk.

In rare cases, dehydration can lead to serious health complications such as seizures and hypovolemic shock.

The changes in skin turgor in these conditions are not related to dehydration.

Start by increasing your fluid intake, mostly with water.

You may also want to incorporate electrolyte-replacement drinks.

Call your healthcare provider right away for next steps.

They will also ask about your fluid intake and how often you are vomiting or using the bathroom.

They will be looking for any areas of redness, discoloration, or open sores.

Your practitioner may then touch your skin to assess the temperature.

Your doctor will simply count and record how many seconds your skin takes to bounce back.

Your healthcare provider may order blood tests to check your electrolyte levels.

This will give them a better idea of how dehydrated you are.

Treatment for dehydration is simply fluid replacement.

You may also receive medication to stop the vomiting or diarrhea.

Together, you will develop a comprehensive plan for treating your dehydration and staying well-hydrated in the future.

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Penn State Hershey Medical Center.Skin turgor.

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Contributor NT.Detecting dehydration in older people: useful tests.