(no subject)

[unbibium]

Is there such a thing as drinking too much water?

Comments

I doubt it.

[vardissakheli.livejournal.com]

My usual treatment for laryngitis is a gallon of water as fast as I can get it down, over about two hours. Even the Inquisition's "water cure" was far more painful than harmful, since the pain would cause the sphincters to release before anything ruptured.

[machinegirl.livejournal.com]

Actually, you can. I don't know how much water it is, but you can drink enough that you become over-hydrated and your cells get flooded and you can die. Symptoms ususally include feeling drunk.

[pootrootbeer.livejournal.com]

It takes some ridiculous amount of water to do that though, right? Like your entire body weight in water?

In any case, it's not something that you could do to yourself unless you meant to (or you were being tortured...)

[holywar.livejournal.com]

Yep. "Hyponaetremia" is the word for it; too much water throws off the osmotic pressure in your blood and your cells start dumping salt to try and equalize it until they collapse. You can actually die from it, but you'll more likely just get really sick. It's actually somewhat common among distance runners and triathletes competing in hot and humid conditions; the mantra for any type of sustained outdoor activity is "hydrate, hydrate, hydrate", but some people take it too far during the course of a race and drinking too much plain water in addition to losing salt to sweat can cause serious problems.

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

yes... like the others said. My dad saw it once with a woman who was a psycho alcoholic-- she drank beer till she overhydrated.

You really have to work at it though. I doubt you're at any risk.