Indiana Woman Dies After Drinking Too Much Water

6 So, what stirs up this water disorder inside you?

When you guzzle more water than your kidneys can process, it drowns the sodium in your bloodstream, leading to a condition known as hyponatremia. Think of it like a seesaw; too much water tips the balance, causing your sodium levels to nosedive. What happens next? Your cells swell up like balloons - not a pretty picture, right?

You might wonder who exactly falls into the high-risk category for this bizarre condition. Life-threatening water intoxication often features in stories about hardcore physical activities, military boot camps or marathon runs. In other instances, it could be due to an underlying mental health condition or even a horrifying case of enforced water consumption.

The party drug MDMA is especially prevalent at music festivals. Nightclub-goers, especially those consuming substances like MDMA, can fall prey to this condition. This happens as they tend to sweat excessively and compensate by drinking water throughout the extended period of dancing. But MDMA also causes your body to hold onto fluids - you’re drinking loads of water but not urinating enough. This sets the stage for a water buildup disaster.

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5 What to do if you start noticing symptoms?

It’s simple - don’t delay; seek medical help. As the excess fluid mounts up, your cells start to swell, with brain cells being no exception. Brain swelling can be a fast track to a coma, seizures, and even death if not treated asap. In the meantime, reaching for a salty snack might just be your lifeline, providing a temporary buffer while you wait for help to arrive.

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4 How much water is too much?

At this point, you probably want to know how much water is too much?’ It’s not that simple. There’s no set water limit that rings the water poisoning alarm. Instead, think about how much water you’re drinking per hour. Factors such as your age, gender, and overall health can tip the scales.

In the case of a healthy adult, the kidneys can flush out 20 to 28 liters of water a day, but they hit a speed bump at about 1 liter per hour. So, when you’re chugging more than a liter an hour, your kidneys might not be able to keep pace.

This race gets even trickier for older adults and children. Their kidneys can’t process water as efficiently, so their safe per-hour water quota might be a notch lower. That means water toxicity could be a quicker trip for children and older adults.

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