Too much water?

JenR1008

Silly question - is there such a thing as too much water? Just curious.

3dogsrunning

Yes. There is. Is it likely the average person will have this issue, no. But it is a thing.
I did have a friend who screwed up her electrolytes by eating very low sodium diet and drinking tons of water.

elphie754

JenR1008 wrote: »

Silly question - is there such a thing as too much water? Just curious.

Yes and it can kill you.

kk_inprogress

Yes. Over hydration is possible and can lead to hyponatremia.

firephoenix8

Before you get to the point of toxicity, you can also drink enough water fast enough that it can cause heart burn. I had to cut back a little, because that happened to me and really surprised me. I was drinking 4-5 20oz bottles in 8 hours, though.

I know someone who grew up in a very conservative religious sect without coffee or tea or any other mood altering substances and when she was a teenager her friends drank water too much too quickly, up to the toxicity point I guess, because apparently it can make you feel a little high. Just goes to show you can't keep teenagers from experimenting I guess.

mylittlerainbow

Yes, there is - if you hydrate exclusively or without adding electrolytes, you can die. This happened to somebody (not in my group) while I was at the Grand Canyon - they ran out of food including energy bars but kept drinking water. A 12yo boy died. In my hiking club, we always stress bringing along energy bars and taking a bite every time you have a water break, especially on the longer (15 miles+) hikes on hot days. At home, when somebody is sick or otherwise pushing water more than any other intake, we advise to use Gatorade or Pedialyte or something similar to keep the electrolytes in your bloodstream from being overly diluted.

MelaniaTrump

All you need is enough water so you can pee light yellow (see through). If it's brownish, dark yellow, or "thick looking" you need to drink more.

SweetestLibby

3dogsrunning wrote: »

Yes. There is. Is it likely the average person will have this issue, no. But it is a thing.
I did have a friend who screwed up her electrolytes by eating very low sodium diet and drinking tons of water.

I've done this before. I wasn't paying attention to my sodium levels versus the amount of water I was drinking when I was running 6 days a week during the summer on top of lifting. Nearly passed out more than once before my trainer gave me electrolytes tablets to dissolve in my water.

earlnabby

JenR1008 wrote: »

Silly question - is there such a thing as too much water? Just curious.

Yes, but it is really hard to get there. Most who do are either frat pledges drinking gallons for a dare or are in a position where they sweat out their electrolytes and don't replace them (like endurance athletes, those who do hard physical work or work out in the heat of the day, etc). The average person does not have to worry about it.

beemerphile1

Yes, but only if you chug large amounts of water in a very short time frame.

blues4miles

mylittlerainbow wrote: »

Yes, there is - if you hydrate exclusively or without adding electrolytes, you can die. This happened to somebody (not in my group) while I was at the Grand Canyon - they ran out of food including energy bars but kept drinking water. A 12yo boy died. In my hiking club, we always stress bringing along energy bars and taking a bite every time you have a water break, especially on the longer (15 miles+) hikes on hot days. At home, when somebody is sick or otherwise pushing water more than any other intake, we advise to use Gatorade or Pedialyte or something similar to keep the electrolytes in your bloodstream from being overly diluted.

The important part of this is physical activity. You are sweating out salt (electrolytes) and not replenishing them because you are drinking straight water which keeps flushing your system. As long as you are getting enough sodium, and especially if you aren't running/hiking, it's generally pretty difficult to drink too much water.