The benefits of drinking water have been touted since the onset of nutritional health. This has seen the recommended minimum drinking quantities which, however, present a new challenge. Studies have shown that it is possible to drink too much water and that this may cause serious health complications. This ‘illness’ caused by too much water is referred to as water intoxication and is a progression from Hyponatremia, which is a low blood sodium concentration.
Water intoxication is most prevalent in athletes or exercising individuals being at the highest risk. A study of conducted on non-elite marathon runners showed that the attempt to make for lost fluid, most athletes overhydrated and increase in body weight was the strongest predictor ( Almond et al ., 2003) Babies are also highly susceptible to water intoxication due to their size, and this may lead to brain damage ( Farrell, & Bower, 2003 ).
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In the body, water intoxication manifests through upsetting the electrolyte balance. When too much water is taken, the kidney is overwhelmed and water in the blood is then drawn to the cells ( Ballantyne, 2019 ). This leads to quick decrease in serum sodium concentration, known as hyponatremia ( Farrell, & Bower, 2003 ). The neurological symptoms (drowsiness, confusion, coma etc.) are a result of movement of water into brain cells, due to decreasing extracellular osmolality.
The symptoms of water intoxication range from nausea to, in the worst case, death. An intoxication patient may experience nausea and drowsiness at the onset, which would then progress to emesis. The patient may also be susceptible to muscle cramping. However, change in mental status characterized by confusion and deteriorating sensory identification signify serious cases and may precede seizure, coma, brain damage or ultimately death.
References
Ballantyne, C. (2019). Strange but True: Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/
Farrell, D. J., & Bower, L. (2003). Fatal water intoxication. Journal of clinical pathology , 56 (10), 803-804.
Almond, C. S., Shin, A. Y., Fortescue, E. B., Mannix, R. C., Wypij, D., Binstadt, B. A., ... & Greenes, D. S. (2005). Hyponatremia among runners in the Boston Marathon. New England Journal of Medicine , 352 (15), 1550-1556.
