How should turgor be inspected to assess dehydration?

To assess dehydration through turgor, gently pinching a section of skin is the most effective method. When you pinch the skin, particularly on areas like the back of the hand or the abdomen, you are observing how quickly the skin returns to its normal position after being pinched. In cases of dehydration, the skin may take longer to return to its original state, indicating decreased skin turgor due to lower fluid levels in the body's tissues. This method directly evaluates the elasticity of the skin, which is a reliable indicator of overall hydration status.

Other assessments, such as skin temperature, skin color, and measuring skin elasticity with a ruler, do not provide the specific information regarding hydration that turgor does. While skin temperature might indicate peripheral circulation and skin color can reveal other conditions, they do not specifically measure the skin's response to hydration. Measuring elasticity with a ruler is impractical and does not directly relate to the common clinical practice of assessing turgor through visual and tactile observation. Thus, gently pinching the skin is the preferred and most practical approach for evaluating dehydration in a clinical setting.