Drinking to much water leads to death.. why?

Question

My daughter asked me if drinking way to much water (like gallons) at once can kill a person. I know it can but Im not sure what it does to the body to make a person die. Does anyone know this?

I meant to put this in the health category.. sorry!

I figured it was what most people are saying but I wanted to be sure before I answer my daughters question to why it could kill someone... and then calm her fears that it wont happen to her unless she sits down and drinks a gallon of water all at once.

Answer 1

uh... yeah try this on....

On January 12, 2007, Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman and a mother of 3, from Rancho Cordova, California, was found dead in her home by her mother hours after trying to win one of Nintendo's Wii game console in KDND 107.9 "The End" radio station's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest, which involved drinking large quantities (Strange possibly drank two gallons) of water without urinating. Ten radio station staff involved in the contest were later fired. The radio station is also now being sued by the family, and police are investigating for possible criminal charges.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication#Notorious_cases_of_water_intoxication

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 a very rapid intake of water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

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.
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

Water intoxication can be prevented if a person's intake of water and electrolytes closely matches his or her losses. The body's regulatory mechanisms provide a very generous margin of safety if the two are imbalanced, but some extreme activities (such as heavy, prolonged physical exertion), as well as disease states, can overwhelm or impair these mechanisms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication#Prevention_of_water_intoxication


Hope I helped!

-dawgy

Answer 2

Yes...If you drink many gallons of water at one time. The body perceives it as drowning. The body can't handle intaking that much water, so the cells swell up. Drinking water throughout different, spaced out periods during a day is fine.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

I am sure it is very rare, water is good for you. People can die from too much water due to bad kidneys, the kidneys can't get rid of the water fast enough and it backs up into the heart and lungs. That normally only happens in older people, but I guess it is possible for it to happen to someone who drinks massive amounts of water.

Answer 5

It's not something you should be worried about. Your body can hold up to 15 liters of water. If your drinking a lot of water and not going to the bathroom then yes you can get water intoxication. But most people will never do that.

Answer 6

Your body is already made up of I think don't quote me 90% water. You can die from water intoxication. Too much of anything is bad for you. Just think what happens when you eat too much, drink too much, sleep to much, gamble too much.
A lady just died about 3 weeks ago from a radio station contest that wanted her to drink the most water without urinating for a nintendo wii. She died of water intoxication.

Answer 7

Just like a drug, you can overdose on water. It can flood your body and cut off kidney function. Here are some website that can better explain. I am sure question came up b/c of the lady who died from drinking to much water to win the WII.

Answer 8

Body fluids contain electrolytes (particularly sodium compounds, such as sodium chloride) in concentrations that must be held within very narrow limits. Water enters the body orally or intravenously and leaves the body primarily in urine, sweat, and exhaled water vapor. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, body fluids are diluted and a potentially dangerous shift in electrolyte balance occurs.

Answer 9

it leads to death because you wash out all the vitamins that your body needs to survive. Then your body starts to driln itself well, you can say eats itself to try and keep itself alive. Which means it Kills you. I Learned that in Biology Class last year. Hope this helps you even though it is weard in a way.

Answer 10

I think drinking so much water leads to the bathroom to pee... hahaha. I didn't know it could kill someone: you drink it, you expell it; where's the problem? You even purify your body.

I'll keep watching the answers to this questions to see if a doctor can give a good explanation. ;-) Good luck.