BATON ROUGE — With many high school football teams practicing in the summer heat and humidity, the risk for dehydration is very real.

No matter the sport, athletes need to be very conscious of getting enough fluids.

"Hydration is a big part of your performance. You need to be well hydrated in order to perform your best. It helps to keep all your other body systems in check, and make sure that – anytime that you're working out, all of the muscle breakdown can get properly flushed throughout your body, make sure your brain is properly functioning, keeps you at a good, healthy heart rate to really maximize your performance,” sports medicine doctor Marie Schaefer said.

Symptoms of dehydration can include extreme thirst, dry mouth, headache, fatigue, dizziness, racing heart, loss of appetite, cramps, and flushed skin. More severe cases can lead to heatstroke, kidney issues, shock, coma and even death.

Doctors say athletes should be drinking four to six ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes. It is better on the stomach than drinking a bunch of water all at once.

Sports drinks can also be a good option.

"If you are practicing more than an hour at a time, that's where electrolyte replenishing through sports drinks can be really beneficial because as you think about it, when you are practicing, you're not — and exercising – you're not only losing water, but you're also losing electrolytes through sweat, and after an hour or so it's very important to start replenishing those. So, sports drinks are a really good source of electrolytes. Sometimes, if that's not available, utilizing water and some type of salty snack can be really helpful as well,” Schaefer said.

Experts recommend skipping caffeinated drinks before practice, because they can speed up dehydration.