Drinking Water.....?

Question

How much water are we suppose to drink in the day? Is it bad if you drink too much water, or is it the case, the more the better?

Answer 1

We are regularly advised to drink more water: it clears skin, reduces tiredness and aids concentration.

But the death of a woman in the US after taking part in a water-drinking contest shows you can have too much of a good thing.

Jennifer Strange had taken part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" game, which promised the winner a Nintendo Wii. Afterwards she reportedly said her head was hurting and went home, where she was later found dead. Initial tests have shown her death is consistent with water intoxication.

Drinking too much water can eventually cause your brain to swell, stopping it regulating vital functions such as breathing, and causing death. So what happens? Water enters the body when we drink and is removed primarily in the urine and sweat. The amount of water in the body is regulated to control the levels of certain compounds, such as salt, in the blood.

If you drink too much water, eventually the kidneys will not be able to work fast enough to remove sufficient amounts from the body, so the blood becomes more dilute with low salt concentrations.

"If you drink too much water it lowers the concentration of salt in your blood so that it is lower than the concentration of salt in cells," says Professor Robert Forrest, a consultant in clinical chemistry and forensic toxicology at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

Confusion

The water then moves from the dilute blood to the cells and organs where there is less water. Professor Forrest likens this to the effects seen in science-class experiments.



"If you put salty water on onion skin the cells will shrink, if you put too much water on it the cells will swell," he says.

This swelling is a problem in the brain.

"When the brain swells, it is inside a bony box so has nowhere to go," he says. "The pressure increases in the skull and you may get a headache. As the brain is squeezed it compresses vital regions regulating functions such as breathing."

Eventually these functions will be impaired and you are likely to stop breathing and die. Warning signs included confusion and headaches.

Symptoms would normally occur very soon after drinking the water, but if the gut is absorbing the water more slowly then it can take longer.

Drinking several litres over a relatively short period of time could be enough to cause water intoxication. Those most at risk include people taking ecstasy, as the drug increases thirst and facilitates the release of anti-diuretic hormones so more water is taken in but cannot be excreted. Also, elderly people because their kidney function may be impaired.

Treatment for drinking excess water is "relatively straightforward", says Professor Forrest. It includes giving patients diuretics to help decrease their water load, or using drugs to reduce the swelling caused by excessive water.

Hot

He says the real problem is diagnosis. Because patients can be very confused they are often mistakenly thought to have taken drugs.

Ursula Arens, of the British Dietetic Association, says water is essential for a variety of bodily functions, for example to excrete waste products such as urea.

We lose water all the time and so need to replace it and in normal circumstances should aim to drink about one and a half litres every day, she says. During hot weather or exercise more should be consumed as dehydration can lead to bad breath, tiredness and a higher risk of bladder infections.

"If you are going to the toilet more than once every two hours or so that might be too much, especially if your urine is clear," she says, but adds that drinking too much water is unusual.

ok bye

Answer 2

I think if you drink too much you might swell up a bit hehe (i now have a funny image in my head of someone swelling up !). But it would take a lot of water for that to happen! It's recommended that you drink about 2 litres a day and more if you are exercising heavily. You actually don't need much though because drinks like tea and coffee count and you even get a lot of your water intake through eating fruit n veg. I hope that helps! :)

Answer 3

No, the extra water flushes out water and sodium among other things such as toxins. Your body retains extra water when it isn't readily available. So by not drinking enough you are actually gaining water weight because your body is storing it. After 3-4 days of drinking enough your body will start to flush out the excess supply and you will see a weight drop of usually a couple pounds.

Answer 4

This is a simple question with no easy answer, because there are so many variables, but for a healthy male 3litres per day which includes all beverages, and 2.2 litres for a female.

The amount of exercise and your general health can vary this amount tremendously.

Common sense and your body will tell you if you are drinking too much fluids, have a look at the source below.

Drinking a great excess of water can lead to a life threatening condition called hyponatremia, because of the inability of the kidneys to cope with vast amounts of fluid.

This would start with dizziness then fainting, fluid on the lungs and finally death.

Answer 5

You should aim for about 2 litres over the course of a day.

If you drink much more than that, it can be very bad. I met someone who'd had a stroke once because she drank too much water too quickly. It has something to do with the water putting pressure on your brain as I recall....

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water. So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake for men is roughly 3 liters of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters of total beverages a day. Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues.

Answer 7

There was a guy in the paper once who died from drinking too much water, it was an awful lot though.

I think about 8 glasses is the recommended amount.

Answer 8

You are supposed to have at least 8 glasses a day. If you can drink more then that is definitely better

Answer 9

You CAN NOT drown yourself by drinking to much water, it could mess up the balance of sodium and potasium, salt but that would be lots of water. generally the more you drink the better

Answer 10

You should aim to drink around 8 glasses a day about 1.5litres if you drink too much it is possible to drown yourself