This Is How A Water Overdose Can Kill You

Last Updated on April 1, 2021

Too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing but really? water? It is true that water is good for keeping your body healthy and well-hydrated but drinking water just for the sake of doing so can be fatal. In severe cases, debilitating health problems such as seizures, coma, and even death occur!

Causes Hyponatremia

Consuming larger amounts of water can cause Hyponatremia disease.The latter disease occurs as a result of the insufficient levels of sodium in the blood which in return affect the functioning of the electrolytes and eventually stop from doing their job and which is sending signals to the cells so that they can effectively control the various operations occurring in the body.

The most common symptoms are nausea, feeling of sickness, fatigue, excessive need to urinate, disorientation, and headaches.

It is true that hyponatremia is quite an unusual disease which only occurs in very rare cases but this doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous and definitely, you shouldn’t take it for granted especially when your health is in question.

This disease is also said to be the worst side effects of drinking too much water that might even lead to death.

Overburdens The Heart

Drinking too much water can possibly cause a pressure on the blood vessels and the heart which in return may lead, in some cases, to seizures. How does this happen?

Well, when you drink more than the required amount of water that your body actually needs, the volume of blood in your body automatically increases. Therefore, influences the heart’s function of successfully pumping blood through your entire body.

Causes Damage To Glomeruli

Consuming water excessively can also damage Glomeruli. A glomerulus is a network of capillaries which is located right at the beginning of a nephron in the kidney via which the blood is filtered. So, you can say that glomeruli are like a filtering station that filters the excess water and get rid of it through urine.

However, drinking the unnecessary amount of water can damage this system leading to very dangerous health issues and complications by putting more pressure on the kidneys which will work beyond their filtering capacities to process the necessary water.

Causes Swelling Of Cells

Swelling of cells is a serious and dangerous health condition that occurs because of the unnecessary water in the body. When you drink water excessively, you are actually helping your body to get weaker as it gets diluted. Therefore, the concentration of electrolytes decreases and also becomes weaker than that of cells.

In this case, your body tries to create a balance between the concentration of electrolytes and that of cells in the blood and while doing so, the water starts flowing through the cells and eventually cause its swelling.

Causes Brain Edema

Brain Edema can be defined as the swelling of brain cells. You might be thinking it’s just water and not poison! Well, this is definitely not an exaggeration, consuming much water can cause many serious health complications including coma, brainstem herniation, and also respiratory attacks.

Normally, most of the cells existing in our body have the space needed to stretch out, however, our brain cells find it hard to do so as the flat bones of the skull don’t leave for them enough room to do that.

So, what really happens is that when excess water in the blood vessels starts slowly flowing into the brain cells, it causes swelling in the cells of the brain.

Depletes Potassium

No need to mention how crucial is potassium in maintaining a healthy function of your heart, body, and overall health. However, drinking much water can cause the proper levels of potassium to decrease causing a dip in its concentration in the body. Therefore, you are more likely to suffer from chest pain, leg pain, and many other health issues.

Causes Stomach Irritation

One of the most common problems of overhydration is the irritation of the stomach. When you drink too much water your kidneys become unable to do their function properly, therefore, the water starts to collect in the body leading to irritation of the stomach along with other unpleasant symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and you might even get diarrhea. These symptoms are also signs of early stages of hyponatremia.

Liver Problems

Liver issues were also found related to drinking much water. However, it is good to note that unnecessary water is not the only culprit but also drinking water that contains iron. Generally, iron overload is not really harmful but in some rare cases, it might be.

Passes On Risks Of Chlorine Intake

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In the past, the drinking water was treated with chlorine. The latter is a highly efficient disinfectant added to the public water supplies in order to kill all the possible diseases that can cause pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoans, which are commonly found in water supply reservoirs, mains and even in storage tanks.

However, many researchers found that by drinking water and even the bottled one makes you at higher risks of getting and suffering from severe and dangerous diseases such as cancer or organ dysfunction.

Too Much Urination

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Frequent urination is a normal reaction that your body makes when it fails to absorb the excessive amounts of water. Your body does not function randomly rather it has a particular system or mechanism of absorption and volume response.

So, when you are drinking much, expect nothing else but spending quite a good time in the toilet. These are more or less major side-effects of drinking too much water. If you have any of these symptoms, don’t hesitate to immediately contact your doctor!