Water intoxication? I didn’t know there was such a thing and that it could be deadly. Water intoxication is also known as hyperhydration. Jennifer Strange died, recently, because of it. Just drinking water, moderately, doesn’t harm you. However, if you consume large quantities and hold your urine, that’s another story. It can result in hyponatremia, a condition related to water intoxication. Taking in more water than your body can release causes an imbalance of electrolytes. The imbalance occurs when the sodium level in the blood drops significantly (below 135 mmol/L). This eventually leads to swelling in the brain. A person suffering from hyponatremia may have symptoms of fatigue, nausea, or a headache. If left untreated the person could have a seizure, lapse into a coma, or die.
Jennifer Strange was twenty-eight years old. She lost her life, in a radio contest, while trying to win a Nintendo Wii. I keep hearing the news reports on television. Each time I hear her name, I want to cry for her children. She just wanted to get them something special. Her story shouldn’t have ended the way it did. It’s an unusual incident, so sad, and so unnecessary. The DJs were warned of the potential danger, by a caller, but the warning was dismissed. Usually, in cases of water intoxication, athletes and infants are more susceptible. Athletes lose water and sodium through sweating. Drinking water, only, is not sufficient. They have to replace the sodium that they have lost. Infants can acquire the condition if they are given too many water bottles or numerous bottles of formula that are too diluted. This is news to me. I remember the doctor telling me that breastfeeding would give my babies all the nutrients they needed. I don’t remember him telling me about the possibility of hyponatremia or water intoxication from bottle feeding. But, that was many years ago and my memory isn’t as sharp.
On another note, there are so many things that we have to consider when dieting. We want to lose weight while keeping our bodies strong and healthy. It may be wise to really pay attention to our water intake and how much we sweat, particularly those of us who are seriously into sports.
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