While it is very important that we all drink water regularly in order to remain hydrated and healthy, it is just as important that one does not over-hydrate, and yes, it is possible to drink too much water.
When the body takes in more water than it excretes, this can lead to what is known as aver-hydration, which can be just as dangerous as dehydration can be. In over-hydration, the body’s sodium level becomes depleted, and this can result in behavioural changes, seizures, haemorrhage, digestive problems, shock, brain damage, coma and even death.
Is it Dangerous to Drink Too Much Water?
The human body basically regulates fluid levels very naturally, ensuring that we each have the correct level of hydration – these levels generally only vary by around 1% under normal conditions. Drinking a large volume of water or other fluid within a very short time span will upset this balance and can lead to over-hydration.
Too much fluid in your body will dilute extracellular fluid or water in your blood, and this can lead to life-threatening conditions, including a lack of salt in the body which can cause mental challenges; swelling of body cells leading to intra-cranial pressure which can result in headaches and nausea, and restricted blood-flow which can lead to seizures.
Symptoms of Over-Hydration
Sometimes when one is dehydrated and very thirsty one can drink too much water or other liquid with too short a period of time and this can lead to over-hydration, the symptoms of which include:
- Blurred Vision;
- Confusion;
- Difficulty Concentrating;
- Drowsiness;
- Elevated Blood Pressure ;
- Flushing;
- Muscle Cramps;
- Nausea;
- Rapid Breathing;
- Twitching or Muscle Weakness; and even
- Paralysis
In order to prevent over-hydration, consume normal amounts of water on a regular basis; not a huge amount at once. Infants tend to become overhydrated more often than adults due to their kidneys not yet functioning fully and the fact that it takes them longer to completely process any fluids, including water.
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