TOO much water??

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  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Hyponatremia is extremely rare. Unless you're an endurance athlete exerting yourself for hours on end with only water for replenishment you have nothing to worry about.

    I find all the YOU CAN DIE FROM DRINKING TOO MUCH WATER posts amusing.

    Ok, I have never told any one they were going to die, but I am quite susceptible to this in the summer. So are you saying that emergency cases are very rare or even mild cases? Is this something I should bring up with my doctor?

    I am talking, when I spend a day out in the heat, I need to have some kind of electrolyte replacement or I will have a splitting headache at best, but I have experienced vomiting, dizziness, etc, as well. One bottle of Gatorade or a half tab of NUUN is enough to avoid the misery, but water, even with salty foods and a banana, is not enough.

    If what you do to take care of the symptoms works for you, then I wouldn't worry about going to the doc. I live in a dry climate so the summers, while hot, don't make me sweat like I would if I lived in a humid environment. Sweating can really affect this, so if you're sweating a lot, your replacement drink sounds like the right way to go.

    For me, this has been more consistent since moving to drier climes.

    In the meantime, it keeps me from drinking alcohol at picnics!

    This is definitely one of the things my partner hopes goes away with weight loss, but I am not so sure about that.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    So are you saying that emergency cases are very rare or even mild cases?
    I'm saying death from too much water is rare.

    BAMBAM's post covers the issue very well. Excessive sweating will remove too much salt from your body. That's the reason many athletes consume products such as Gatoraid, Power Aid, etc. Because the electrolytes need to be replenished.

    If you sit at desk all day and aren't sweating profusely it will be very difficult fall victim to hyponatremia. If you exercise for a hour and sweat a lot you'll still be OK. Sweat all day long with nothing but water for replenishment - bad idea.

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