Water Poisoning: The Dangers of Drinking Excessive Amounts of Water

Has it ever occurred to you that you could die from drinking too much perfectly uncontaminated water? This was a surprise to me when I heard of a mother of 3 which recently lost her life from taking part in a local contest with a radio station. This mother of three drank almost two gallons of water in a very short period of time with out emptying her bladder. The winner of the contest was the individual which could drink the most water in a given time without going to the bathroom. Well, at first it would seem like yet another extreme game but it turned into much more.
So what is water poisoning? Water poisoning occurs when extreme amounts of water are consumed in a short period of time. This actually will cause the human brain to become disrupted in its regular brain functions. This is as a direct result of an imbalance of electrolytes in body fluids. We all know that we as humans are made up of about 55%-65% water from our biology classes. It is very true that we as humans must consume water or we will die. The problem enters into this picture when rapid large quantities are taken into the body resulting in upsetting the sodium in body fluids.

When excessive amounts of water are consumed, body cells swell and they also swell in the nervous system. This swelling includes the brain. The body's fragile cells will start to die under this excessive pressure. When the process dying cells occurs, then the body has what is known as water poisoning. This is a very serious condition which has symptoms which include lightheadedness, headache, and nausea, swelling of the brain, coma, seizures, and even death.

In normal scenarios, it is the athlete which is at greatest risk of water poisoning. This is because they become very thirsty and loss much fluids when competing. In order to lessen the risk of water poisoning, an athlete is encouraged to drink sports drinks which will replace electrolytes in the body system.