Surely the concept of water intoxication sounds strange to you. Well it exists. It is not very common, but it is feasible, especially due to excess hydration during endurance or high-intensity sports, especially in times of high heat and sun exposure.
Sufficient hydration is key to the correct functioning of the body, because each cell in our body needs fluid to do its job. Doing it in excess can have harmful effects, even very serious if the problem is not detected and treated.
Water is essential, among other things it helps regulate body temperature, prevent constipation, purify waste and improve the functioning of most organs.
That said, drinking too much water is a risk that can lead, in the worst case and not very frequently, to a disease called hyponatremia, which is the most serious thing that can happen from excess fluids.
It is because the salt and electrolytes in our body are too diluted and the levels remain below what is convenient, that is, less than 135 millimoles per liter. Sodium helps maintain the balance of fluids inside and outside cells. If it descends due to excess water, it moves from the outside to the inside of the cells and causes them to swell. It is especially dangerous when it affects the brain, because it can lead to edema, which affects the brain stem, and cause central nervous system dysfunction. If this decrease occurs suddenly, it can be fatal, and although death for this reason is very rare, it is not impossible.
Hyperhydration can be due to several factors. One of them is drinking so much water and/or other liquids that the kidneys are not able to evacuate it through urine and it ends up passing into the bloodstream. The second condition is that excessive fluid retention occurs, normally caused by some disease.
In both cases, an imbalance occurs between water and sodium in the blood. And other basic substances for the proper functioning of the body are also diluted more than necessary.
Experts advise the doses of water we need, although it is not a mathematical rule, since it depends on many factors, such as age, sex, one's own constitution and weight, the climate of the area where one lives, daily activity or the state of health of each one. But as a general rule, if you don't have any specific ailment, your thirst itself is a good guide.
Of course, if you run a marathon or have a fever, you will have to hydrate more than usual. Pregnant women also tend to be thirstier than normal. But you should never go overboard, because it can be serious.
That said, it is considered that a healthy adult should drink between two and three liters of fluids per day. We say fluids, because everything counts, not just water. Also the liquids provided by fruits and vegetables, a soup or coffee, and of course the beers and soft drinks that are drunk throughout the day.
Others determine it by the so-called 8x8 rule. It is a measurement that is not very understandable for us, because it is measured in ounces. Translated it would mean 8 cups of liquid breakfast a day, but they have no scientific basis. The proportion between calories needed and water consumed is another way. If 2,000 are needed, 2 liters of water would have to be consumed.
Before reaching the point of suffering an illness due to this problem, the body sends us signals that we are drinking above (or below) our capabilities.
One of them is the color of the urine. A straw yellow tone indicates that we are doing the right thing; If it is rather dark, it probably indicates a lack of hydration, while if it is colorless it means that you have drunk too much.
Another way to appreciate it is by how many times you need to go to the bathroom. Between 7 and 8 a day would be normal; More than 10 could be a warning that we should reduce fluid consumption.
In addition, there are some ailments that cause more thirst than usual. Congestive heart failure, kidney and/or liver problems, antidiuretic hormone malfunction syndrome, taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or uncontrolled diabetes. Schizophrenia, ecstasy, anti-psychotic medications and diuretics are also likely to cause excessive thirst.
Already in a more advanced phase of the problem, and even without reaching dangerous extremes, we would notice nausea, vomiting and diarrhea; unexplained fatigue and changes in mental status, such as disorientation and confusion. A throbbing headache is common in these cases and is due to the cells, swollen by excess fluid, pressing on the skull. Although it must be said that some of these symptoms are very similar when what is suffered is a lack of hydration.
Another sign of lack of fluids, which is milder and disappears by stopping drinking immediately, is that lips, hands and feet lose color. It is also due to the change in cell size, which causes some areas to swell. In more serious stages it would lead to muscle weakness, with spasms and spasms, convulsions, increased blood pressure, respiratory distress, loss of consciousness and, in extremely serious situations, coma.
If the problem is due to drinking too much liquid, it will be enough to reduce the dose to alleviate the disease. When it has occurred due to retention, diuretics are efficient; in some cases, the lost sodium will have to be replaced, and if a medication has caused it, it should be enough to stop the treatment.
Those who may suffer from this problem the most are athletes in endurance races and other extreme sports or those who do many hours of daily exercise. In that case, part of the water can be replaced with energy drinks, because they contain sugars, electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, and other minerals to replace those lost through perspiration.
According to a 2013 study, the results of which appeared in the American Medical News Today, the kidneys can eliminate between 20 and 28 liters of water per day, but at a rate of no more than 0.8 or 1 liter per hour. Hyponatremia occurs when the kidneys are overworked with much larger amounts of fluid.
The authors of the research stated that the symptoms of this disease could occur if between 3 and 4 liters were drunk in a short period of time, which they did not specify. According to one of the cases illustrated in the study, some soldiers suffered from it after drinking almost two liters of water per hour during hard training. In another case, he had ingested five liters in a few hours.
The kidneys do not have time to purify all that fluid so quickly and instead of expelling it from the body through urine, they send it to the cells.
