The health board said the best course of action was to stay at home, take paracetamol to relieve symptoms of any fever and to drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.

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So, it happened that I found myself on the unforgiving concrete roof of Forbes on one of the hottest nights of the summer, wiping sweat from my brow and downing bottle after bottle of water, hoping to avoid dehydration.

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Since tortoises can go two years between drinks of water, an unplanned micturition can cause dehydration and even death.

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She also staves off dehydration by drinking lots of water.

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But no large, well-designed studies have found that anything but time -- and drinking water to treat dehydration -- can ease the aftermath of too much alcohol consumption.

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"We haven't seen anything worse than some minor abrasions, and mild dehydration and, of course, some dysentery from unclean water, " she said.

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It seems that even mild dehydration can make one completely fixated on the enticing, frustrating prospect of water that has yet to appear.

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