Water Intoxication

[Volcom1418]

So I always thought that drinking more and more water during the day was going to help me with gains, keeping up with my creatine filtration, and just flushing toxins out of my body. Little did I know that you can drink too MUCH water and it can lead to very bad things. Today I drank almost 2.5 liters in a little over an hour and started to panic because my kidneys started to hurt. Then I started to research it (like I also do when something is wrong because I am a hypochondriac) and found out that the maximum amount of water your kidneys can filter in one hour is 800-1000 mL. The excess of the water then starts to go into your cells because it can't stay in your blood and causes the cells to swell. This water can eventually, in severe cases, go to your lungs and even in your brain. This will make it difficult to breath and if your brain starts to swell you can eventually go into a coma and possibly die. There has been a few cases that death has resulted from this and I posted a few links below leading to some information about water intoxication and to the different cases. I make this thread because if you are like me, and try to drink as much water as possibly because that's what everyone tells you to do, know that if you drink too much too fast it can be harmful, not helpful. As of now, (if anyone cares) it has been about 10 hours since I stopped drinking water for the day and most symptoms have gone away, thank God. I had no idea this could happen and will forever watch my water consumption. This mostly refers to drinking very large amounts of water very quickly and not throughout the day, but drinking too much through the day can still be harmful.

This link has most of the information on water intoxication and cases:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication


Another link that helped me was:
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

I know I am just a 19 year old, I hope this information can help you and make you more aware. Being that almost all of us drink massive amounts of water a day to keep hydrated, just keep this in mind! Good luck with your goals!

[ThanksIKnow]

youll be fine.

[murderousbrah]

how retarded do you have to be to drink water to death?

[Zuoi]

wait you drank 2.5 litres in one sitting? da fuk did u do that for? just spread 2-3l over the course of the day bro..

[Volcom1418]

wait you drank 2.5 litres in one sitting? da fuk did u do that for? just spread 2-3l over the course of the day bro..

I drank it while I was working out but I was barely sweating.

[XxmartinixX]

Werent you like forcing it down?
Seriously I mean your body knows what its doing, when you feel you cant take any more water its probably a hint!
I heard of that thing before once cos they had some water drinking contest and the woman died cos of brain swelling.
Good to hear your okay now though bro

[AlmightyK]

[23sean23]

Watched a program the other day where some women died from water intoxication, her brain swelled and crushed some stem or something and she died!

[dan37542]

The Japanese forced people to drink water to death during WWII...

[WlLD]

The Japanese forced people to drink water to death during WWII...

brutal. I ave 4-5L of water a day, never had a problem.

[ACv3]

how retarded do you have to be to drink water to death?

Not very retarded at all. One of the symptoms of hypokalemia from overhydration is a paradoxical thirst. It's actually quite common among endurance athletes, though actually dying is relatively rare.

[BignSwoll]

did you get a lil buzzed? I've drank more water than i should have before, made me feel sick+buzzed. I heard its from flushing important minerals out of your system, has anyone else experienced this?

[dan37542]

did you get a lil buzzed? I've drank more water than i should have before, made me feel sick+buzzed. I heard its from flushing important minerals out of your system, has anyone else experienced this?

A process called diffusion, all liquids will equalize with the water in the body, cell plasm will equalize with the water and start to die.

[Volcom1418]

did you get a lil buzzed? I've drank more water than i should have before, made me feel sick+buzzed. I heard its from flushing important minerals out of your system, has anyone else experienced this?

Yeah I felt a little uncoordinated but its all better now. The worst part was my heart racing and palpitating, but that was most likely just from the anxiety attack I had.

[crunchfit]

2.5 litres in an hour will not cause water intoxication.


Edit: for you anyway

[Volcom1418]

2.5 litres in an hour will not cause water intoxication.


Edit: for you anyway

Yeah that it was calmed me was that most of the people I read about were old, skinny, or super young. I assume that the higher the weight the more water you can drink.

[.Excalibur]

how retarded do you have to be to drink water to death?

Not retarted at all; In fact, you just have to listen to the posters here that say to "drink 1 gallon of water a day,minumum," or just the typical "the more water the better"

[.Excalibur]

Oh, and more thing OP, drinking past your daily water requirement (which isnt alot, especially considering you get lots of water in food, and other drinks, such as milk) is NOT going to benefit you.


No such things as "flushing out toxins," or "making you feel better" by drinking past your requirement

[.Excalibur]

brutal. I ave 4-5L of water a day, never had a problem.

Unless your a soldier, walking miles and miles a day, in 120 degree weather, carrying 150 lbs of gear, its pointless drinking that much water, most likely actually counter productive to your BB'ing goals

[Marcus8880]

Just consume a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a banana and that'll balence out your sodium potassium.. Assuming the sodium loss is what kills you.

[.Excalibur]

Just consume a 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a banana and that'll balence out your sodium potassium.. Assuming the sodium loss is what kills you.

Its not.

Good thinking though, as salt dilution is a characteristic of "too much water"


The "real" problems are:
Water taking too much space in stomach; suppresses appetite
Cells temporarily swell, can be dangerous
Certain hormones will be released, in the bodies response for homeostasis.

EDIT: You don't lose salts by drinking more water than your body needs, its just being diluted, and staying inside the cell, with more water. Theres a difference, think about it

[Volcom1418]

Its not.

Good thinking though, as salt dilution is a characteristic of "too much water"

Yeah I started to put salt in my hand then eat it.

[ThanksIKnow]

Yeah I started to put salt in my hand then eat it.

champ

[.Excalibur]

Yeah I started to put salt in my hand then eat it.

If your drinking enough water such that you feel the need to eat straight salt, your drinking too much water.

[Loctus]

Unless your a soldier, walking miles and miles a day, in 120 degree weather, carrying 150 lbs of gear, its pointless drinking that much water, most likely actually counter productive to your BB'ing goals

wow you really hate water eh broseph?

A gallon/day is fine. Actually, it's probably even close to optimal.

[crunchfit]

When you drink too much water, the concentration of electrolytes (Na+, Cl-, K+, etc.) in fluid outside cells decreases. The body tries to balance out the concentrations between outside cells and inside cells. It does this by osmosis. Water from the less concentrated solution (outside cells) moves into the cells where the concentration is higher, diluting the fluid within the cell. However, this can cause cells to swell and even burst, which is dangerous.


Salt / bananas provide electrolytes, increasing the concentration outside cells so that water does not move into cells and cause them to swell.

[.Excalibur]

wow you really hate water eh broseph?

A gallon/day is fine. Actually, it's probably even close to optimal.

Sure, a gallon of water per day may be optimal.


But are you counting all the water thats contained in your food, and other drinks you drink (such as milk), or just straight water?

Big difference there.

[Volcom1418]

Sure, a gallon of water per day may be optimal.


But are you counting all the water thats contained in your food, and other drinks you drink (such as milk), or just straight water?

Big difference there.

I have completely changed my water intake

[.Excalibur]

I have completely changed my water intake

Thats good,now you should have more room in your stomach for food

[SchlachtMan]

So I always thought that drinking more and more water during the day was going to help me with gains, keeping up with my creatine filtration, and just flushing toxins out of my body. Little did I know that you can drink too MUCH water and it can lead to very bad things. Today I drank almost 2.5 liters in a little over an hour and started to panic because my kidneys started to hurt. Then I started to research it (like I also do when something is wrong because I am a hypochondriac) and found out that the maximum amount of water your kidneys can filter in one hour is 800-1000 mL. The excess of the water then starts to go into your cells because it can't stay in your blood and causes the cells to swell. This water can eventually, in severe cases, go to your lungs and even in your brain. This will make it difficult to breath and if your brain starts to swell you can eventually go into a coma and possibly die. There has been a few cases that death has resulted from this and I posted a few links below leading to some information about water intoxication and to the different cases. I make this thread because if you are like me, and try to drink as much water as possibly because that's what everyone tells you to do, know that if you drink too much too fast it can be harmful, not helpful. As of now, (if anyone cares) it has been about 10 hours since I stopped drinking water for the day and most symptoms have gone away, thank God. I had no idea this could happen and will forever watch my water consumption. This mostly refers to drinking very large amounts of water very quickly and not throughout the day, but drinking too much through the day can still be harmful.

This link has most of the information on water intoxication and cases:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication


Another link that helped me was:
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

I know I am just a 19 year old, I hope this information can help you and make you more aware. Being that almost all of us drink massive amounts of water a day to keep hydrated, just keep this in mind! Good luck with your goals!

dude wouldnt u puke before u die of water? dunno bout u but i would stop drinkin water if i started fukin pukin it back out, and i thot u was supposed to drink like 4-5L a day