Does water intoxication hurt?

Question

My friend's relative recently died of water intoxication, and my friend would like to know if they were able to go painlessly or not.

Answer 1

Unfortunately it isn't painless. For hours the person is literally drowning because water has no place to go and fills the cavities in the lungs. So the person usually suffocates slowly and painfully.

Answer 2

The actual water intoxication (called "hyponatremia") part was probably (relatively) painless. The person probably just passed out and never awoke. However, getting to the point of water intoxication can be quite painful. It really depends on how it happened.

If the person simply drank too much water (which is highly unlikely), there's a good chance the person experienced intense stomach and abdominal pain, due to the huge amount of water they had to ingest. Vomiting was most likely involved, since the stomach isn't designed to hold that much liquid.

If the intoxication happened as a result of prolonged, rigorous exercise without replenishment of electrolytes and salts, stomach pain would again be experienced. However, if this were the case, they would also have experienced intense muscle pain (an aching), increasing as the salt content of their blood decreased. Normally, this pain causes one to stop exercising and become very hungry or thirsty, since the body wants to replenish the salt.

Most cases of hyponatremia are caused by a combination of the two: drinking too much water during prolonged exercise. Hyponatremia is quite rare, but unfortunately, its effects are irreversible. By the time you know something is seriously wrong, your chances of survival are severely diminished.

A good way to avoid hyponatremia is to drink plenty of fluids while exercising. At least one litre of fluid per hour of exercise is a good rule of thumb. Also, make sure the fluid you're drinking contains electrolytes or natural salts and sugars. 100% fruit juice is a very good choice. Gatorade or Powerade are also good. This will help ensure your blood sodium and blood sugar levels are at their optimum levels. It will also help you get the most benefit from your workout.

Answer 3

A couple years ago, I was told by my gyno to drink several 8 ounce glasses of water before an ultrasound, and not to urinate afterwards. 40 minutes later, I could barely walk. It was very uncomfortable, and I was crying...I just let go at the gas station. It was not painful to me, though. However, water intoxication is a whole other ball park. I think that I read somewhere that some natural, body-produced "pain-killers" are produced while dying, but please- have your friend ask a doc about my above statements. Thanks- Amy

Answer 4

Water intoxication would certainly result in one truly aweful headache, which is why it's so rare. Usually the pain will stop someone from drinking anymore.

Sorry for the bad news.

Answer 5

Sorry! I've come very close to death half-a-dozen times in my life. By all rights, I shouldnt be alive. One of the early times, in my pre-teen years, I almost drowned. My lungs got full of water before my older brother realized I was in trouble and dragged me to the surface (like 2 feet above my head).
Case you are wondering, it was summer camp, and we were swimming in a natural spring. I got tangled in some vegetation under the water.
To answer your question, to be FRANK, the water in my lungs hurt like HELL.
IF your friend just drank too much water, that's a different qusetion, but I think the only thing that saves us from extreme pain when we die (death is VERY painful at time) is losing consciousness. I'd say (sorry) your friend's death was NOT pleasant.

Answer 6

Can be painful. Water intoxication causes a loss of potassium which can cause dizziness and feeling of nausea. Can also lead to heart arrhythmia's.

Answer 7

I found this on the web:Symptoms of Hyponatremia
The early warning signs are often subtle and may be similar to dehydration and include nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, and confusion. At this point, many athletes drink more water because they think they are dehydrated. Unfortunately, water alone will increase the problem of hyponatremia. At the most extreme an athlete may experience seizures, coma, or death

Sounds unpleasant to me. You also have to think about the amount of water it would take to do this.......I would assume there is alot of stress on the stomach.

Answer 8

I've heard of someone dying from winning a water chugging contest. I'm definetlt not a dotor but my guess would be that it wouldn't give you a headache but I'd imagine the pain in your stomach would be pretty intense.

Answer 9

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.

Sounds painful to me.

Answer 10

What actually happens when a person drinks too much water is it lowers the concentration of sodium in the blood. This causes the brain to swell, which can lead to a feeling of lethargy, unconsciousness even a coma or death.