Water poisoning? Is that a legit thing?

SkinnyMiss053
SkinnyMiss053 Posts: 65 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
Someone commented that I drink too much water...2-4.5L a day. They said I'll get water poisoning... :confused:

Should I be worried?

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,342 Member
    You need to drink a HUGE amount of water to get water poisoning. Way more than 2-4.5l a day. More like that in an hour, over and over.
  • SkinnyMiss053
    SkinnyMiss053 Posts: 65 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    You need to drink a HUGE amount of water to get water poisoning. Way more than 2-4.5l a day. More like that in an hour, over and over.

    Phew! That's a good thing because it keeps me from snacking :smiley:
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,699 Member
    It's called hyponatremia ... and you prevent hyponatremia by consuming electrolytes, especially salt and potassium.

    Read the articles on hyponatremia here:
    https://www.ultracycling.com/old/siteindex.html

    And here:
    https://www.ultracycling.com/sections/articles/
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,342 Member
    SkinnyMiss053 wrote: »
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    You need to drink a HUGE amount of water to get water poisoning. Way more than 2-4.5l a day. More like that in an hour, over and over.

    Phew! That's a good thing because it keeps me from snacking :smiley:

    I drink at least 4L a day, usually more too :)
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,659 Member
    They are talking about Hyponatremia - Google it as it is an interesting read.

    Hyponatremia can kill and ironically, I used to have somebody on my buddy list on MFP that actually did get that, it was fortunate she visited her GP and he diagnosed her with the condition and sorted her out otherwise she would not be here today.

  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    You need to drink a HUGE amount of water to get water poisoning. Way more than 2-4.5l a day. More like that in an hour, over and over.

    It's more about electrolyte balance than the actual amount of water, one can get water intoxication at the upper end of those levels under certain conditions - for example, about 10% of marathon runners were reported to have signs of it at the end of a marathon evaluation.
    But under normal kidney function those amounts aren't a worry. Make sure you are eating well and getting enough sodium in your diet.
    Drink enough to have slight discoloration in your urine. If it looks like tap water that is one sign of overconsumption of water.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,699 Member
    Yes, regarding the kidney function ... I have kidney stones and it is recommended that I drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

    But I am to ensure that I consume moderate amounts of electrolytes as I do.
  • SkinnyMiss053
    SkinnyMiss053 Posts: 65 Member
    Probably why I have low blood pressure. Too much water. Lack of bacon
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    SkinnyMiss053 wrote: »
    Probably why I have low blood pressure. Too much water. Lack of bacon

    actually my low blood pressure is helped by drinking lots of water...if I don't and I bend over to say pick a weed out of the flower bed and stand up fast...I get exceptionally dizzy if I am not hydrated.
  • NowyTends
    NowyTends Posts: 110 Member
    one of the jobs i work is highly physical and when i add gym before it my total daily avg is about 21cups a day (between 0430 and 2130) and sometimes i've gone past 30 cups (during the summer)..not dead!

    Sodium and potassium are definately key, as are other electrolytes, especially when you go over the 12 cup average.. everyone is different!
  • SkinnyMiss053
    SkinnyMiss053 Posts: 65 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SkinnyMiss053 wrote: »
    Probably why I have low blood pressure. Too much water. Lack of bacon

    actually my low blood pressure is helped by drinking lots of water...if I don't and I bend over to say pick a weed out of the flower bed and stand up fast...I get exceptionally dizzy if I am not hydrated.

    Me too! Or if I stand up from a sitting position my vision goes black for a few seconds and I feel like I'm floating....I hate it. I never had this problem at a higher weight.
  • aubiefan122013
    aubiefan122013 Posts: 21 Member
    edited May 2015
    I had what I'm pretty sure was a hyponatremia episode one time and it was TERRIFYING. I had just been out for a run, it was a very hot day, and I think I had some hormone imbalances going on at the time. I drank about a gallon of water (almost 4 L) in around 15 minutes. I wasn't intentionally water-loading, I was just that thirsty.

    I got a drilling headache, tunnel vision, and passed out, and was very lucky that was all that happened, as I was alone in the house at the time. When I regained my wits I ate some very salty food in the slightly addled hope that it would balance out the water, and then just rested for the afternoon and was fine.
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
    Some years back, a radio station had a water-drinking challenge, with a Wii as a prize. One of the contestants died. Her family successfully sued the radio station because the disk jockeys had been warned of the dangers and discounted it. She "only" had to drink two gallons over three hours in order for it to kill her:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/radio-station-sued-in-water-drinking-death/

    http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/jury-rules-radio-station-jennifer-strange-water-drinking/story?id=8970712
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