Now don’t go thinking that you can use it as an excuse to get out of drinking water, but yes, it is actually possible to die from drinking too much water.
While we all need to drink a certain amount of water on a daily basis in order to keep our bodies hydrated and in perfect health, it is possible to drink too much water, which is really bad for one. When one drinks too much eater, especially within a short period of time, it is called water intoxication.
Water intoxication takes place when an individual drinks so much water that the other nutrients in their body become diluted to such a point that they can no longer function. Your body needs electrolytes, which are simply salt ions, to move fluids and nerve messages in and out of cells and throughout the body. When you drink too much water, it causes an electrolyte imbalance that affects the concentration of the ion sodium, which leads to a condition called hyponatremia.
Extreme hyponatremia can ultimately cause coma and death if not caught and treated early enough. When caught early enough, treatment with IV fluids containing electrolytes can result in a complete recovery. Hyponatremia can be caused by drinking too much water but it can also be caused by severe burns, various liver and kidney problems, excessive sweating, prolonged dehydration and various other diseases and conditions.
In hyponatremia, a severe sodium imbalance causes massive cell damage; sodium is vital to circulate the fluids outside of cells, thereby regulating the blood pressure and maintaining the signals that allow the muscles to operate properly among other functions.
Cells maintain the sodium levels by moving water and electrolytes into and out of cells, thereby either diluting or increasing the sodium levels in body fluids. When one drinks an enormous amount of water within a short period of time, the level of sodium dilution that occurs affects the cellular maintenance system adversely.
When there is a sodium imbalance, cells desperately try to remedy the problem by taking in tremendous amounts of water, which can be a problem, especially in the brain, which is encased in the skull and can end up bursting with the pressure of the water they are consuming. Severe cases of water intoxication can lead to coma and a fairly quick death as a result of brain swelling.
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