Water Poisoning: The Risks of Over-Hydration
- From: Ablang <HilaryDuffPerfect18YO@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 23:00:59 -0700
< Is it still dangerous to drink too much water even if you
are not engaged in sports? Is the water diet, ie 1 oz of water per lb
of body weight / day, bad for you? Are you not supposed to drink 64
oz of water per day now? >
Water Poisoning
The Risks of Over-Hydration
by Erowid
v1.0 - Sep 15, 2003
The fact that water can cause fatal overdoses is not well known. Often
called "water intoxication" or "hyponatremia" (low salt)1, water
poisoning results when too much water is ingested in too short a time
without replenishing electrolytes, particularly sodium and potassium.
The human body (as with other animals) maintains an equilibrium of
electrolytes in the bloodstream as part of its normal operation.
Sweating causes the body to lose salt, but the primary cause of
hyponatremia is drinking enormous amounts of water, which dilutes the
salt in the body to a dangerous level. As the electrolyte levels get
dangerously out of balance, body systems begin to fail and the
sufferer exhibits signs of crisis such as diarrhea, over-salivation,
stupor, vomiting, muscle tremors, confusion, frequent urination and
other general symptoms of illness, and their brain begins to swell.
This swelling is called a 'brain edema' or 'cerebral edema' and can
lead to brain damage, paralysis, and sometimes death.
Water poisoning deaths are a real (although small) problem with
recreational MDMA use; for more information about this see the MDMA
Health & Water Issues page. There are occasional deaths in the US and
Canada from people accidentally drinking too much water, and some from
intentional or forced overconsumption, such as the case of a young man
required to drink two or more gallons of water as part of a college
fraternity hazing ritual.
How susceptible one is to the dangers of hyponatremia seems to be
partially dependent on body weight, how much food is in the system,
and other factors not yet understood which make up individual
variation in response. The body has a system for regulating
electrolyte balance and it eliminates excess fluids through urination.
Some people's urine regulation systems (partially controlled by
Anti-Diuretic Hormone [ADH], also called vasopressin) do not respond
as quickly in some circumstances.
Health professionals recommend taking electrolytes dissolved in liquid
or eating salty snacks when drinking large amounts of water to make
sure that a proper balance is being maintained. For instance,
sometimes when people are trying to avoid an alcohol hangover, they
may drink (or have their friends force them to drink) more water than
they would normally drink. In such cases, salty crackers, chips, or
some other kind of salt source can help the body absorb the water and
eliminate it properly without risking further throwing the
electrolytes out of balance.
Links
1. MDMA & Water Issues
2. E-Medicine's Hyponatremia Page
3. In hazing, dumb stunts can be fatal, Jan 2005
4. Pledge dies in hazing at Chico fraternity House, Jan 2005
5. Death in Frat's Hazing Ritual Shakes a SUNY Campus, Sep 2003
6. Interesting Water Poisoning story, Apr 2004
Notes
1. Water Poisoning
- Erowid uses the term 'water poisoning' instead of the far more
common 'water intoxication' because we believe it better describes the
problem. As we focus our information on people who are familiar with
different types of intoxication, it seems unwise to associate this
dangerous and unpleasant effect with any type of recreational
potential.
http://www.erowid.org/culture/health/health_water_poisoning.shtml
===
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-- Hilary Duff
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