Is it true that you can die from drinking too much water?

Question

I heard your brain gets sponge like.

Answer 1

Yes, you can die from drinking too much water, The syndrome is water intoxication. If you drink water very fast. The electrolytes in your body are diluted. If the amount of soidum falls below 100 mmol/L (2.3g/L) cerebral edema, seizures, coma, and death can occur within a few hours of drinking the excess water.

Low sodium may occur in runners who drink water. A marathon runner should drink water with salt and potassium or a sports drink.

Consuming as little as 1.8 litres of water in a single sitting may prove fatal for a person adhering to a low-sodium diet, or 3 litres for a person on a normal diet.

When the blood is low on sodium. More fluid from the blood vessels flow into the cells and the spaces around the cells. This contributes both to cerebral edema (swelling in the brain) and pulmonary edema. In the lungs, carbon dioxide in the capillaries must diffuse to the air sacs (alveoli) and the oxygen in the air sacs must diffuse to the capillaries. If there is an excess of fluid in the lungs this will not happen. The heart will beat faster to compensate for lower oxygen content in the blood. The person may have a heart attack.

The kidneys are designed to eliminate water in the amount that you intake water so that your body has a constant balance of water (fluid) in the blood vessels and inside the cells. When you drink faster than your kidneys can eliminate, the fluid builds up in your lungs.

The brain is the organ most vulnerable to the effects of overhydration. If excess fluid levels accumulate gradually, the brain may be able to adapt. If you drink faster than the kidneys can eliminate fluid, your blood pressure rises. see animation on website below...
http://www.kidneypatientguide.org.uk/site/fluidAnim.php

Fluid and electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, magnesium) are regulated in many ways by the body. A more comprehensive explanation is given here:
http://mcb.berkeley.edu/courses/mcb135e/kidneyfluid.html

Answer 2

definite it quite is noticeably authentic. most of the flaws that are sturdy for you, if no longer carried out effectively, can damage or kill you. too a lot water intake in too little of a time body may reason rigidity on your mind and produce on seizures, coma, or maybe lack of life. SO at the same time as you ought to drink a great number of fluids noticeably in warm climate and if workout..you won't be able to bypass nuts with it both. The sixty 4 oz..s suggested on a daily basis is adequate for most persons. there is easily a narrative about this actuality..the girl who entered a radio station contest "carry your wee to win a Nintendo WII" the girl drank a ton of water in a couple of minutes, by no skill peed it out and the subsequent day she woke and went right into a coma and later died. properly desire this permits!

Answer 3

Yes!

But it has nothing to do with the brain or other body cells for that matter.

It affects the heart. The electrolytes of the body are leached out. The heart needs these electrolytes to generate the small current that makes it work. Little or no electrolytes ----> little or no electricity to keep heart beating ------> you're dead!!!

On the other hand, you do need a certain amount of water in your system. If not, the salts in the blood begins to crystallize slowly blocking arteries; kidney stones are formed; the kidneys have to overwork, destroying the Bowman's capsules; the heart has to overwork because the blood is thicker; not enough fluid in the cells for the functioning of enzymes, etc.,. etc.

Answer 4

Drinking too much water has nothing to do with your brain. If you already have heart problems (like CHF) then you might put your body on "fluid overload", and your lungs would then fill up with fluid and you could die. Or if you are in renal failure (kidney failure), you need to follow your fluid restrictions set by your doc. Otherwise, water is the best thing you can do for your body.

Answer 5

Yes, but drinking that much water is really hard. The instance I remember reading about was a case of child abuse where a kid was forced to drink from a hose until, instead of drowning, her blood thinned until she died. Normally, drinking water won't hurt you.

Answer 6

Not sure but I know that you can get water poisoning. There was a guy in my basic training that got water poisoning and had to be in the hospital for a few days.

Answer 7

Drinking very large amounts of water can cause dilutional hypo natremia and do you serious harm. But you really have to drink a LOT of water.

Answer 8

No, you'll just throw up.

Now a prolonged over-intake of any fluid can cause a huge stress on the kidneys. You'd die of kidney failure.

The lung one was stupid...was that a blonde avatar attached to it?
That was pathetic, she used a couple big words and all of a sudden she thought she was smart. She thought wrong!

Answer 9

Sorry, Anjelkake. It IS true and it happens from time to time.
You'd better check your textbooks again.

Death ensues from cerebral and pulmonary edema - the LUNGS (and Brain) FILL UP WITH WATER !!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10091501&dopt=Citation

Answer 10

That is a false statement. The brain is between 94.98% and 97.485% water, so, I doubt it will be sponged up or anything like that.