Long COVID Atlas › Glossary › Hydration
ManagementHydration
https://longcovidatlas.org/glossary/hydration
In plain language
What it is
Drinking enough fluid — usually with extra salt so your body holds onto it — to keep enough volume in your bloodstream.
Why it matters
Many people with long COVID have POTS and low blood volume, so standing makes blood pool and the heart race. More fluid puts volume back and eases the dizziness and racing heart. See the full Hydration page for how to do it safely.
Think of it like
Topping up a pump that runs rough when the tank is low — add fluid and it runs smoothly again.
For specialists
Formal definition
Maintenance of adequate intravascular volume through oral fluid and sodium intake (commonly ~2–3 L fluid and increased salt per day in POTS), used as first-line, volume-expanding management of orthostatic intolerance.
Mechanism
Sodium drives extracellular fluid and plasma-volume retention; the expanded central volume blunts the orthostatic fall in venous return and the compensatory orthostatic tachycardia. Of limited use where sodium intake is already high, and contraindicated in some cardiac and renal disease.
Sources
- POTS and dysautonomia after COVID-19 (review of management).
- Treatment of POTS: non-pharmacological and pharmacological (systematic review).