This simple test could show if you urgently need to drink more water or face serious health issues
A doctor has shared a simple two-second test you can do at home to see if you should be drinking more water. According to anaesthesiologist Doctor Myro Figura this check could alert you to dehydration – a potentially dangerous condition.
Speaking to his more than 800,000 followers on social media platform TikTok, Dr Figura explained more about what is known as the turgor pinch test. “We do this in hospital,” he said.
To carry out the test you should pinch the skin on the back of your hand. If it stays up it means you are dehydrated. He shared more about the test in response to another creator’s video claiming that you should pinch the skin on your fingers for the same reason. However, Dr Figura said the test should be done on the hands.
Dr Figura said: “When you’re dehydrated your extracellular space contracts and that reduces your skin elasticity. So when you pinch your skin like this it’ll stay up if you’re dehydrated. The only problem with this video is that you’re supposed to do this test on the back of your hand, not on the digit.”
This advice is backed by experts at MedlinePlus, who warn that reduced skin turgor is a “sign of fluid loss (dehydration)”. They say: “Diarrhoea or vomiting can cause fluid loss.
“Infants and young children with these conditions can rapidly lose a lot of fluid, if they do not take enough water. Fever speeds up this process.”
When describing the turgor pinch test, MedlinePlus says: “Skin with normal turgor snaps rapidly back to its normal position. Skin with poor turgor takes time to return to its normal position.
“Poor skin turgor occurs with moderate to severe fluid loss. Mild dehydration is when fluid loss equals five percent of body weight. Moderate dehydration is 10 percent loss and severe dehydration is 15 percent or more loss of body weight.”
Causes of poor skin turgor are:
- Decreased fluid intake
- Dehydration
- Diarrhoea
- Diabetes
- Extreme weight loss
- Heat exhaustion (excessive sweating without enough fluid intake)
- Vomiting
It urges you to contact your doctor if:
- Poor skin turgor occurs with vomiting, diarrhoea, or fever
- The skin is very slow to return to normal, or the skin “tents” up during a check. This can indicate severe dehydration that needs quick treatment
- You have reduced skin turgor and are unable to increase your intake of fluids (for example, because of vomiting)
