If you drink too much water, is it possible to drown or kill yourself, or is this an urban myth??

Answer 1

There is a condition called "water poisoning" or "water intoxication" which occurs when you rapidly drink very large quantities of water.
Addition: There are several cases of this occurance listed here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_poisoning

Answer 2

It's called water intoxication, and yes it is possible to kill yourself drinking too much water. It is not an urban myth at all. Just after Christmas, a woman in California did it and died, trying to win an WiFi for her kids. It was a contest to see who could drink the most and not go to the bathroom, and she died of heart failure. It upsets the fluid and electrolyte balance, and is very difficult to correct once the system starts failing. Not a myth, dangerous to try. You won't drown in the traditional sense, but you will in all likelyhood die trying.

Answer 3

You don't drown as such, but drinking an excessive amount of water can certainly kill you. It is def not an urban myth.

It is something that long distance runners are advised on. Over drinking after a marathon race can cause a coma and even death. Its not common, but it can happen.

Answer 4

No it's not a myth, you can actually die from drinking too much water. Its called water intoxication, or "hyponatremia, a condition in which excess water in the body causes sodium levels in the blood to drop. Water is then absorbed into the blood and fluid builds up in the brain".

This is also often the cause of death in people who take ecstasy and drink too much water to counteract dehydration. Sipping small frequent amounts of water is recommended, drinking huge amounts is not safe.

Answer 5

You can make yourself unwell from too much water as you dilute the bodies natural salts and minerals, I know you can feint due to it but kill yourself seems a little over the top, unless of course you feint and fall under a bus or something equally terminal!

Answer 6

Yes a guy died this year after completing the London Marathon it was put down to drinking too much water. There is a name for it but I cant remember what it is.

Answer 7

It can be extremely dangerous. One of the worst effects is to cause severe brain swelling, which can be fatal. Definitely NOT an urban myth, but a FACT.

Answer 8

It is posible yes, it's called hyponatremia.
Yes it is. Drinking water too much before your kidneys can filter them can cause the water to back up and actually dilute your blood. This is known as water intoxication. It can easily put a person into a coma, and in more serious cases, cause death.

Answer 9

Yes it is possible to kill yourself drinking too much water

Answer 10

it takes 1 teaspoon of water to drown. sounds unberliveable but its true. if you try to breathe water in through your nose it floods your lungs. also i heard somewhere in america some radio station was given away nintendo wiis in a competition but the people in the competition had to drink so much water an hour with out urinating and one woman died.