Human beings try to take the best possible care of ourselves and we try to keep our body functioning by providing it with certain needs. We speak, for example, of the consumption of food and liquids with certain periodicity, of the hours of sleep to revitalize ourselves, etc.
The task, in principle, does not seem difficult, since it is the body itself that gives us the keys to carry out these needs. For example, when we become very sleepy and our eyelids close, when the throat becomes dry and indicates that we need water or when the belly “growls” asking for food. But,how long a person can go without eating or without drinking? Is it possible to hold out for days? In the following oneHOWTO article we will tell you about it.
How much a person can go without eating or drinking – answer
The answer will vary greatly depending on factors such as, for example, whether the person in question is physically exerting himself or not. Generally speaking, an individual can go 40 days without eating (although there have been cases of people who have endured 60) and 3-5 days without drinking.
However, and as we have commented, the physical state of the person in question has a great influence, since you have to maintain a fluid balance and you have to compensate for those that come out either in the form of sweat or urine. This loss can be accelerated with heat or physical exercise, and if the level of fluids in our body is not compensated, we can reach two situations:
- Overheating the body (sweating stops).
- Decrease in blood pressure.
When these two factors come together, the consequences are very serious and can even lead to the death of the person. On the other hand, it should be noted that any drink can compensate for these fluid levels except alcohol, as it is a product that dehydrates even more.
On the other hand, a person who ingests liquids but is deprived of food will last (in the case of a healthy individual) approximately 40 days.
How much can an older person go without eating?
To answer faithfully, more than age we must look at the constitution of each person, since the healthier the individual is, the longer it will last. That obese people can better weather famines is no joke, because the truth is that the more body fat we have, the greater the resistance to lack of food.
In general terms, as we mentioned in the previous section, we can go about 40 days without eating, but it will vary according to our physical condition and the factors we face. For example, if this fast begins when we already lack many nutrients or if we lack water or other fluids, our stamina will decrease. On the contrary, there have been people who have managed to resist famine for up to 73 days with constant hydration. Let us remember the case of Gandhi, who reached 21 days taking small sips of water every day. So there is three fundamental pillars to fight hunger:
- The water that is consumed daily
- The weight of each individual
- The health of each person
How much a child can go without eating or drinking
For the little ones, the information given above about how long you can go without drinking or eating; It will be necessary to see the health of the child, the daily hydration that he obtains and if he is exposed to factors of physical wear and tear. Remember that energy reserves are stored in our body in the form of fat, which is why we must also take into account the weight of the child.
Within two days of not consuming nutrients, the child may begin to have symptoms such as extreme fatigue, tummy ache, dizziness, etc. For this reason, from aCOMO, we advise you to call a pediatrician immediately if the little one has not eaten for days. The doctor will explain to you what foods you can introduce little by little into your diet so that you do not have problems digesting them. This article on Home Remedies for Tummy Pain in Children may provide you with useful information.
On the other hand, it should be remembered that to enjoy good health it is recommended to drink 4 to 6 glasses of water a day (from one year to 10 years) or 8 glasses a day (from 11 to 18 years). In this other article on How to drink two liters of water a day we talk about the benefits of good hydration and how to reach the minimum recommended daily water consumption.
We have talked to you about how long a person can last without eating just by drinking water and how long you can go without drinking or eating, but if out of curiosity you wonder how much a person can endure without sleep, from UNCOMO we inform you that it is possible to reach 11 days without sleep (in very extreme cases).
This article is merely informative, at oneHOWTO we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
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