Drinking any amount of salt water - will you die?

Question

Like when you go to the beach and you accidentily swallow some of the salt water - will it kill you? Or if you eat pretzels and drink water... Im paranoid because im eating pretzels and drinking water and like if 1 salt crystal from the pretzels got in my water and i drink it, will i die?

I mean im not literally worried im gonna die, but how much would you have to drink to die?

lol im not crazy - just askin a kinda dumb question i guess... im bored and idk what all the hype about salt water is

Answer 1

hahah i love this question i always wonder/worry about the stupidest things too. but you said you werent actually worried which is good becuase that seems like a bad way to waste your time (the worrying seems bad, not the pretzel eating, well because that's always a good idea)

but anyway sorry im no help i actually have no idea how much it takes, i wouldnt try it if i were you.

Answer 2

The answer is no.

You can drink a glass of salt water and live.

You can have salt on your fries and pretzels and food and live.

Your body simply needs fresh water and will proceed to dilute the salt back to an acceptable level.

If you can only drink salt water and have no access to fresh water, you will eventually die from dehydration. You see the body will start using its reserves of water stored in your cells to dilute the salt. Eventually the cells will die if not re hydrated. If enough cells die, your organs will shut down and you will then be in some serious trouble followed by death. That takes a while to achieve and you will feel horrible during the process. Your body will definitely let you know there is something wrong long before it gives out on you.

Answer 3

You'd have to ingest a lot more than a glasses worth with a bowel of pretzels that's for sure.

But, they tell sailors not to drink sea water for a reason though. The salt can seriously dehydrate you and damage organ function, namely the kidneys and liver. If you were to eat or drink lots (and I mean lots) of salt in one sitting or 24 hour period you could get ill, and certainly you could die if left without pure water or something to rehydrate and flush the salt from your sysytem. Salt intake also increases heart rate and blood pressure. If your heart rate/bloddo pressure goes up too quickly you will feel quite ill (headache, nausea). Older people with heart conditions are placed on low sodium/salt diets in order to avoid increases in blood pressure/heart rate. They especially can die if sodium levels become too much, but this is usually a cumulative thing (or continued sodium doses over time).

Anyhow, so the answer is both yes and no. You can die from drinking or eating too much salt. This is thankfully very avoidable. In the unlikely event, you ever get stranded on the ocean, don't ever drink the sea water. In the meantime, all health professionals will say that a lower soduim diet is best for everyone, even younger people in an attempt to avoid damage to the body.

Sadly, salt is hard to avoid. Almost all processed and fast foods have high sodium levels. This is because salt not only is popular because of its taste, it's a cheap and excellent preservative.

Hope that answers your question. Thanks for asking :)

Answer 4

I don't know about the child dying at the least he would probably be very sick but as for drinking too much salt water, you can most definitely die. That is why people who get stranded at sea can die of dehydration because they might be surrounded by water but if you drink it it will dehydrate you and make you more thirsty then you drink more and eventually you start hallucinating and die.

Answer 5

Regarding your pretzels:

Salt consumption from food is harmless if done in moderation. A high-salt diet , however, will lead to hypertension and other health problems and so is not recommended. But your body does need some salt (e.g. electrolytes) for proper normal function, just like it needs some fat and some cholesterol. Even oral rehydration fluids, used in clinics and given to patients suffering from severe dehydration, is a solution of salts along with different sugars and other nutrients because in severe cases just drinking pure water is ineffective. So keep eating your pretzels, just don't overdo it and make sure you balance out your diet.

Regarding a day at the beach:

While the salt will dehydrate, sea water is also full of microorganisms that are harmful to the body. People lost at sea who give in to thirst and drink sea water end up getting ill from these micoorganisms on top of accelerating their dehydration with salt. Usually this results in suffering from vomiting and diarrhea (which exacerbates the dehydration) and even hallucinations/delusions (which can cause people to do things that cause further harm or even death to themselves/others, such as becoming violent). But these people (stranded at sea) are already immune-compromised from heat, dehydration, and stress due to the dire situation they are in. Accidental ingestion of sea water from a day at the beach is unlikely to cause any harm, especially in normal individuals with a healthy immune system.

Answer 6

No, if you swallow a gulpful of seawater at the beach it wont kill you... it'll taste gross, and you might want to rinse with fresh water, but it wont kill you.
Also, the pretzel thing wont hurt you. In fact, you should probably down them with a glass of water cuz they are pretty salty.
What will hurt you is if you drink a significant amount of salt water and then nothing else... it'll dehydrate you. But before you die, you'd show symptoms, like hallucinations/wanting to drink anything in sight... your body wouldnt let you die. So, unless you're floating in the middle of the ocean on a life raft or stuck on a desert island, you really have nothing to worry about.

Answer 7

A lot more than one crystal of salt in your water glass...

Accidentally swallowing a bit of sea water will not make you die. If you were lost at sea and tempted to drink sea water because you have no fresh water, it could make you sick enough to vomit and become dehydrated. But just a little bit is no problem... otherwise no one would be going to the beach playing in the surf for fear of dying.....

Answer 8

No, you won't die. When I was a small child, I was swimming in the ocean and I had swallowed a LOT of salt water. When I got out of the water, I felt sick and I had urked, but that was just about it. Don't be paranoid.

Answer 9

It would take a bit of salt water. It would take a high concentration to raise the salt level in your blood. Keep drinking fresh water too so that your kidneys can continue to do their job.

Answer 10

If you drank enough salt water, you would most definitely die due to dehydration. The increased salt concentration in the water in your body would cause the water in the cells of your body to diffuse out of them causing severe dehydration which would be lethal.