How much water can u drink without dying?

Question

How much water can you drink without going to the bathroom before you die?

Answer 1

Yes you can die from it. It's called water intoxication. Takes anywhere from as little as 1.8 liters to 4+ litres depending on what your doing. the normal person will die if they consume around 3 litres in a short amount of time.

A woman died not to long ago from water intoxication
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070114/2/1228q.html

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.

Most water intoxication is caused by hyponatremia, an overdilution of 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. Plasma sodium levels below 100 mmol/L (2.3g/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.

A person with two healthy kidneys can excrete about 900ml (0.24 gal)/hr.[2] Consuming as little as 1.8 litres of water (0.48 gal) in a single sitting may prove fatal for a person adhering to a low-sodium diet, or 3 litres (0.79 gallons) for a person on a normal diet. However, this must be modulated by potential water losses via other routes. For example, a person who is perspiring heavily may lose 1 L/hr (0.26 gal) of water through perspiration alone, thereby raising the threshold for water intoxication. The problem is further complicated by the amount of electrolytes lost in urine or sweat, which is variable within a range controlled by the body's regulatory mechanisms.

Water intoxication can be prevented by consuming water that is isotonic with water losses, but the exact concentration of electrolytes required is difficult to determine and fluctuates over time, and the greater the time period involved, the smaller the disparity that may suffice to produce electrolyte imbalance and water intoxication.

Sodium is not the only mineral that can become overdiluted from excessive water intake. Magnesium is also excreted in urine. According to the National Institutes of Health, "magnesium deficiency can cause metabolic changes that may contribute to heart attacks and strokes."[3] Intravenous magnesium is used in cardiac care units for cardiac arrhythmias.[4]

Answer 2

It depends on whether you drink it in one sitting (which is what it sound like that you're asking) ... and even then, it depends on each person's body. It's best not to drink any large amounts of water in one sitting, and throughout the day, you should drink at least 64oz a day, no more than a gallon. That's what's healthy.

Answer 3

This is a serious question as a contestant in a radio show (california) recently died from ingesting too much water to rapidly.
People can die or be seriously injured internally from over-hydration with insufficient replacement of sodium, a conditon referred to as dilutional hyponatremia.

Personally, I avoid water when possible. W.C. Fields never drank water because, in his words, "Fish F.... in it".

Answer 4

you cant die from too much water. The only time that would ever happen is if you're drowning.You can though get too full and stop but you cant die.

Answer 5

Depends on how fast I'm going to die. I would say 2 liters.

Answer 6

That is a rather "MORBID" Question !
You havent watched the News lately, somebody just died in a Radiostation Contest !!!!!!! To get an I-Pod i believe.....

Answer 7

It all depends on if you go pee or not... you have ot consider the variables. I could also be working hard and sweating it out.

Answer 8

thats why I don't drink water...drink beer if you drink to much you'll pass out and whiz your pants.

Answer 9

as much that quenches your thirst and dissolves your meal

Answer 10

not much. 2 gallons. If your tubby, you might live.