Homemade Oral Rehydration Recipes Table
| Base | Recipe | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Water (reference) | 4 cups water + ½ tsp table salt + 2 Tbsp sugar | Dissolve fully; taste no saltier than tears |
| Sports drink | 4 cups Gatorade G2 + ½ tsp salt | Too salty? published fallback: ½ tsp per 32 oz bottle |
| Chicken broth | Opt 1: 4 cups water + 1 dry cube + 2 Tbsp sugar; Opt 2: 2 cups regular liquid broth (not low-sodium!) + 2 cups water + 2 Tbsp sugar | Sodium does the work - low-sodium broth defeats it |
| Tomato juice | 2½ cups plain tomato juice + 1½ cups water | Not V8 or bloody-mary mix - plain juice only |
| Cranberry juice | ¾ cup juice + 3¼ cups water + ½ tsp salt | For when everything else sounds worse |
| Who | The line |
|---|---|
| Infants | Stay on breast milk or formula as usual; call the provider early - no DIY mixing |
| Young children | Store-bought ORS only - a home recipe's salt margin of error is too wide for a small body |
| Adults, mild | These recipes, in small frequent sips over hours; urine back to pale straw = caught up |
| Severe signs | Confusion, fainting, no urination, rapid heartbeat = ER - IV fluids, not a pitcher |
A rehydration drink is a ratio, not a product: water, some sugar, and a pinch of salt - enough glucose to pull sodium across the gut wall, enough sodium to hold the water in. The five recipes in the table are UVA Health clinician versions published for patients (short-bowel and GI programs use them), and they all land near that ratio using kitchen ingredients: 4 cups of water, half a teaspoon of table salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar is the base everything else dresses up.
Bottom line: the recipes are for adults and older children with mild dehydration from sweat, stomach trouble, or too little drinking - and the store-bought bottle beats the kitchen for the people who matter most. Infants should stay on breast milk or formula as usual (NIDDK's line), young children get over-the-counter oral rehydration solutions because a home recipe's salt margin of error is too wide for a small body, and anyone in the severe band - confusion, fainting, no urination - needs the ER, not a pitcher.
The honest part: this table is a guide for mild cases, not a treatment protocol. Taste is the practical safety check - a homemade batch should taste no saltier than tears; if it tastes like seawater, you mis-measured, and the fix is a new batch, not drinking it anyway. Measure with actual measuring spoons: 'half a teaspoon' by eyeball is how homemade ORS goes wrong.
How to use
- Pick a base you will actually drink: the water recipe (4 cups water, ½ tsp table salt, 2 Tbsp sugar) is the reference; the sports-drink recipe adds salt to Gatorade G2 because sports drinks alone carry too little sodium for rehydration.
- Mix and check: dissolve fully, chill if that helps you drink more, and taste - no saltier than tears. Broth versions use regular (not low-sodium) broth; tomato and cranberry versions are just diluted juice plus salt.
- Drink it in small frequent sips over hours, not in two gulps - and check the grade table: if the drinker is a baby, keep formula or breast milk going and call the provider; if symptoms reach the severe row, that is an ER trip.
Frequently asked questions
What is the basic homemade oral rehydration recipe?
Four cups of clean water, half a teaspoon of table salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar - the UVA Health water-base recipe. That is close to the clinical logic of packaged ORS: glucose helps the gut absorb sodium, sodium keeps the water in. Use measuring spoons, dissolve fully, and it should taste no saltier than tears.
Can I just drink a sports drink instead?
For mild sweat loss, mostly yes - but as a rehydration solution, sports drinks carry less sodium than ORS because they are built for thirst, not for illness. That is why the clinician recipe adds half a teaspoon of salt to 4 cups of Gatorade G2: the drink provides sugar and flavor, the added salt provides the rehydration. If it tastes too salty at full strength, the published fallback is half a teaspoon per 32-ounce bottle.
Is homemade ORS safe for babies and toddlers?
No - use store-bought oral rehydration solutions for young children, because the salt margin of error that is fine for an adult body is too wide for a small one, and infants should keep breast milk or formula as usual (NIDDK's guidance). Call the pediatrician early: the dehydration table's baby line - no wet diaper for 3 hours or more - is a call, not a wait.
Why sugar in a rehydration drink - isn't that unhealthy?
The sugar is the mechanism, not a treat: glucose drives sodium-and-water absorption in the small intestine, which is the whole trick behind oral rehydration therapy. Two tablespoons across four cups is a modest amount, and it is why sugar-free versions of this recipe do not work - artificial sweeteners do not tow the water across.
How much should I drink, and how fast?
Small, frequent sips - a few swallows every few minutes, working up to the goal over a couple of hours; gulping a full glass on an unsettled stomach usually comes straight back up. Let urine color be the gauge: it should return to pale straw within a few hours. If vomiting makes sips impossible, that is the point where a provider or ER visit beats any recipe.
When does dehydration stop being a home-rehydration problem?
At the severe row: confusion, fainting, no urination, rapid heartbeat or breathing, or shock - those are ER symptoms needing IV fluids, not more to drink. Also escalate on trajectory: if sips will not stay down, the fever keeps climbing, or the symptoms have run past a couple of days, the kitchen phase is over. The table buys comfort and recovery for mild cases; it is not a way to ride out a severe one.