Can You Drink Too Much Water?

Question

It's important to drink plenty of fluids, but can you overdo it?

Answer 1

Too much water can be harmful, yes.

Answer 2

Yes. you could kill yourself by drinking too much water.

Answer 3

yes

Answer 4

In a word, yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes can also suffer from water intoxication. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.

What Happens During Water Intoxication?

When too much water enters the body's cells, the tissues swell with the excess fluid. Your cells maintain a specific concentration gradient, so excess water outside the cells (the serum) draws sodium from within the cells out into the serum in an attempt to re-establish the necessary concentration. As more water accumulates, the serum sodium concentration drops -- a condition known as hyponatremia. The other way cells try to regain the electrolyte balance is for water outside the cells to rush into the cells via osmosis. The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from higher to lower concentration is called osmosis. Although electrolytes are more concentrated inside the cells than outside, the water outside the cells is 'more concentrated' or 'less dilute' since it contains fewer electrolytes. Both electrolytes and water move across the cell membrane in an effort to balance concentration. Theoretically, cells could swell to the point of bursting.

From the cell's point of view, water intoxication produces the same effects as would result from drowning in fresh water. Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days.

It's Not How Much You Drink, It's How Fast You Drink It!

The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to intaking an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it's possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.

Answer 5

Yes, you can kill yourself by drinking too much water (alot mind you), or drinking too much too fast. That's why people on Ecstacy die.

Answer 6

Yes.  Too much water can kill you.  It's happened several times in military basic training camps.

You need to hydrate, but you can overdose on anything.

Answer 7

Yep. Drinking tons of water can kill you.

Answer 8

Yes, drinking too much water can kill you. It's called drowning.

Answer 9

What u say is too much i drink about 2 ltres a day but i think its enough

Answer 10

yeah you can end up feeling really crappy, give yourself a bad stomach ache and so on. . .you can even throw off your electro lite balance so much that you could die, its called water poisoning. . . be careful! :P   a lot of our foods, especially fruits and veggies already have a lot of water in them. .. so you dont have to worry about drinking tons of water! if you eat a well balanced meal, then i think even 8 glasses is a little unneccesary, id say 3-5glasses a day is more than plenty :P

Answer 11

i heard that over drinking can cause death i mean i heard in the news a couple of frat guys wanted to join a fraternity andhad to drink large amounts of water at one time and they died,i guess it could be some what like drowning, but doctors say to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day,  i drink bout 2 1/2 litters of water a day but not all at once,

Answer 12

Water intoxication (also known as hyperhydration or water poisoning) is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain function that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by water.[1] Normal, healthy (both physically and nutritionally) individuals have little to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume more than ten litres over the course of just a few minutes, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet massive amounts of fluid are still consumed.

Most water intoxication is caused by hyponatremia, insufficient sodium in the blood plasma, which in turn causes an osmotic shift of water from extracellular fluid (outside of cells) to intracellular fluid (within cells). The cells swell as a result of changes in osmotic pressure and may cease to function. When this occurs in the cells of the central nervous system and brain, water intoxication is the result. Additionally, many other cells in the body may undergo cytolysis, wherein cell membranes that are unable to stand abnormal osmotic pressures rupture, killing the cells. Initial symptoms typically include light-headedness, sometimes accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache and/or malaise. Sodium levels below 100 mmol/l (2.3 g/l) frequently result in cerebral edema, seizures, coma, and death within a few hours of drinking the excess water. As with alcohol poisoning, the progression from mild to severe symptoms may occur rapidly as the water continues to enter the body from the intestines or intravenously.

Answer 13

YES, drink when you are thirsty is a good maxim, carrying a plastic drink bottle around makes you look like a dork anyway!

Answer 14

Yes! when you drink to much water you flush out potassium, sodium and other important electrolytes. Your body is unable to regulate water retention because you have flushed out all of the regulating electrolytes. This creates a dangerous and often fatal condition called hyponatremia . It basically causes your brain to swell, amongst other problems. If you are drinking a lot of water for an athletic event or a hike or whatever, the best thing to do is to go 50/50 with a sports drink .

Answer 15

I'm glad you ask this question because i never knew that  and i"m getting ready to start a diet!! thanks

Answer 16

yes!!!!

water can kill you if you drink too much too fast!

Answer 17

Yeah some radio station where I live had a contest where the person who drinks the most water wins a Nintendo Wii.

She died.

Answer 18

did you know this 8pints of water a day is a load of rubbish, you only need 2 pints a day most of your foods you eat contains water and your body has 70% already, lots of water drunk is okay it just flushes ones system out thats all its important to drink fluid on hot days, when your excersising or running as you sweat and lose lots, but drinking to extreme no need there are 0calories in water it just cleans clears you out.

Answer 19

I think so. If you drink too fast you can get really sick too.

Answer 20

yes, at times we overdo fluids. well skycat welcome back , i missed u  terribly and am happy to read from u again