Drinking Too Much Water

A lot of people ask if drinking water in undesirable quantities is dangerous. The answer to this question is in the affirmative. It is not healthy to drink too much water, if too much of water is consumed in a very short span of time. Studies have now shown that drinking too much of water can be fatal as well. At the same time it does not mean that a person should stay dehydrated. Each person loses water all the time through sweat, urination, defecation, breathing and other metabolic activity. Therefore, it is important that, whatever water is lost, is replenished.

What is Water Intoxication?

Water intoxication is also known as Hyponatremia. Hyponatremia means 'insufficient salt in the blood'. Water intoxication is an effect of drinking too much water. Water dilutes the sodium present in the blood stream. Sodium is an essential ingredient required to maintain the fluid balance within cells. Often, whenever we are dehydrated, we always drink water, but the sodium lost due to sweating or otherwise is not replaced.

Symptoms of Water Intoxication

Read below to find the symptoms of drinking too much of water.

• Nausea is one of the earliest symptoms of hyponatremia.
• Muscle cramps is the next symptom of water intoxication. It is similar to muscle cramps caused due to dehydration.
• A person who has hyponatremia also suffers from slurred speech.
• Confusion and disorientation are other symptoms of hyponatremia.
• One of the symptoms is low concentration of sodium in the blood.
• Excessive water can cause bloating as well.
• Drinking too much of water can also give rise to headaches.

Since the symptoms of water intoxication are similar to that of dehydration, many people, especially athletes tend to drink more water. This is however very dangerous as water increases the problem of hyponatremia. In extreme cases of water intoxication a person can suffer from seizures, a coma, respiratory arrest, swelling of the brain or even death.

Treating Water Intoxication

There is little which can be done to treat hyponatremia outside the hospital. If a person collapses it is important to inquire and find out if there are chances that the person has been dehydrated. If the victim has been drinking water at regular intervals, then there are high chances that the person is suffering from water intoxication. The first thing that is to be administered to such a victim is common salt. Do not give any medicine like ibuprofen, aspirin, etc. These pain killers can aggravate the condition of hyponatremia. After the first aid has been administered, it is important that the victim be shifted to the hospital. If treatment is not given at the earliest, it can cause death.

Side Effects of Water Intoxication

When you drink too much of water, it also puts a lot of pressure on the kidneys, as the kidneys are not able to cope with the amount of water consumed. The other side effect is that the brain swells, and becomes large in size inside the skull itself.

Since the answer to the question "is drinking a lot of water bad for you", is yes, people ask "how much water should a person drink in a day?". The answer to this question is, drink enough water, such that it keep you well hydrated. The problem does not actually lie in drinking a lot of water, but drinking water within very short intervals. A healthy adult kidney is able to process about 15 liters of water a day. People who stay in warmer climes or if they work the whole day in the sun, require more amount of water than people in cooler environment. If a person works out regularly, then his water requirement will be different from other people. The moral is do not do anything in excess as it can be harmful.

There are benefits of drinking water, however drinking too much water at one single point of time is dangerous.