How will somebody die from drinking an excessive amount of water?

The symptoms of water intoxication are similar to the
symptoms of alcohol intoxication.

In January 2007, hours once competing in an exceedingly radio station contest to win a Nintendo Wii, 28-year-old Jennifer Strange was found dead in her California home. The station's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" challenge awarded the sport system to the contestant who may drink the foremost water while not having to require a visit to the toilet. in line with preliminary autopsy reports, Ms. Strange apparently died from drinking an excessive amount of water too quickly, leading to a condition known as water intoxication.

At its most simple, water intoxication happens when an individual drinks such a lot water that the opposite nutrients within the body become diluted to the purpose that they'll not do their jobs. you've got in all probability heard the term electrolyte before, whether or not in reference to sports drinks (which offer electrolytes additionally to fluids) or to bound conditions, like bulimia or diarrhea, that cause dangerous "electrolyte imbalances" within the body. Electrolytes are merely salt ions (atoms with an overall positive or negative charge) that cells use to maneuver fluids and nerve messages into and out of cells and throughout the body. while not electrolytes, the body cannot operate (see What are electrolytes? for a a lot of detailed description). Water intoxication causes an electrolyte imbalance that affects concentrations of the ion sodium, and it results in a condition known as hyponatremia.

In cases of water intoxication, it's extreme hyponatremia which will ultimately cause coma and death. If it's caught early, treatment with IV fluids containing electrolytes will cause an entire recovery; however untreated, hyponatremia is fatal. Water intoxication is essentially one kind of hyponatremia -- the condition may also be caused by excessive sweating, severe burns, prolonged dehydration and bound liver and kidney issues, among different diseases and conditions.

When an individual dies from hyponatremia as a results of water intoxication, the initiating issue could be a severe sodium imbalance that causes large cell injury. Sodium could be a completely charged ion, and its role within the body is to flow into the fluids outside of cells. As a result, sodium helps regulate blood pressure and maintain the signals that permit muscles operate properly, among different things. Cells actively maintain an exact sodium concentration within the body. within the cell, there are a lot of electrolytes; outside the cell, there's a lot of water. Cells keep sodium levels healthy by moving water and electrolytes into and out of the cell to either dilute or increase sodium levels in body fluids. however when somebody drinks an incredible quantity of water in an exceedingly short amount of your time, and therefore the water doesn't contain any added electrolytes, the cellular maintenance system cannot handle the amount of sodium dilution that happens.

The result's that cells desperately try and increase the sodium concentration in body fluids by taking in tremendous amounts of water. Some cells will swell an excellent deal; others cannot. Brain cells are constrained by the skull and might find yourself bursting with the pressure of the water they're taking in.

The exact quantity of water intake which will cause water intoxication is unknown and varies with every individual. Symptoms of water intoxication truly look plenty just like the symptoms of alcohol intoxication, together with nausea, altered mental state, and vomiting. different symptoms embody headaches, muscle weakness and convulsions. In severe cases of water intoxication, coma and death come back fairly quickly as a results of brain swelling. The condition is kind of rare within the general population, however in distance athletics, it is a known risk and is usually avoided by drinking sports drinks rather than water throughout coaching and events.