As strange as it may seem, yes, it is entirely possible to drink too much water. Whilst this is extremely rare, water intoxication can occur and can prove fatal.
What is Water Intoxication?
Water intoxication, is also known water poisoning or dilutional hyponatremia. The word hyponatremia comes from an amalgamation of Greek and Latin words, and loosely translated means “insufficient salt in the blood.”
Hyponatremia is a state wherein the water in the body exceeds the required amount and thus the balance is upset, and the body cannot function. Once there is more water than other nutrients in the body, it cannot perform optimally.
Electrolytes are simply salt ions that are vital to the movement of fluids and nerve messages through the body. An imbalance in electrolytes in the body causes a disturbance in the brain function.
This condition causes massive cell damage; the cellular maintenance system is unable to handle the level of sodium dilution that occurs. The cells then attempt to regulate the balance, find they cannot, and because brain cells are constrained by the skull, they could burst.
How Does One Drink Too Much Water?
Drinking too much water is generally not done accidently, although that can also happen. If one exercises a lot and then drinks too much water too quickly in an attempt to rehydrate, hyponatremia can occur.
Virtually all deaths related to water intoxication occur because the individual has taken part in a water-drinking contest in which large amounts of water is consumed without urinating. A classic case of this is that of a 28-year-old California woman, Jennifer Strange, who died after taking part in a contest called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” to try and win a Nintendo Wii. After downing six litres of water in three hours, Jennifer vomited and left the studio for home with a splitting headache, where she later died.
Other water intoxication deaths have occurred from fraternity hazings where individuals were forced to drink excessive amounts of water in between doing push-ups. Clubbers taking ecstasy have also died from drinking too much water.
Marathon runners are very susceptible to hyponatremia if they drink too much water while running. A study of runners that competed in the Boston Marathon in 2002 revealed that 13% of the runners had hyponatremia at the end of the race. One way to avoid this is to hydrate well before the race and not drink water that often whilst running. The ideal is to balance what you drink with the amount that you are sweating.
Symptoms of Water Intoxication
The most common symptoms of hyponatremia are a headaches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, frequent urination, mental disorientation, and seizures.
Severe water intoxication will result in cerebral oedema, a swelling of the brain, which can lead to a coma and death.
How to Prevent Water Intoxication
Do not make a conscious attempt to drink as much water as possible, even if you are exercising heavily. It is very difficult to measure the amount of fluids that you lose when exercising, so the best way to ensure that you do not over-hydrate is to drink water only if you are thirsty.
If you do need to hydrate a lot, do not gulp the water all at the same time, rather drink water slowly, al little at a time.
Avoid playing silly drinking games that force you to drink water in excessive amounts without being able to urinate.
Sources:
Rent water cooler in London and buy water coolers from Living-Water. Living-Water provides homes and businesses with bottled water coolers and mains water dispensers.
