Water Toxicity....and Don't argue with me

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=eight-glasses-water-per-day

Also, the "if you're thirsty you're already dehydrated" thing is a myth. Drink when you are thirsty, if you aren't thirsty, don't drink. Urine should be pale yellow, clear means you are drinking too much.

It's not dehydration, as you all know, it was over hydration of water without electrolytes. I drink about the same amount a day, but I count everything fluid that goes down the trap, coffee, tea, almond milk etc. You are lucky to be alive, there is no cure for water toxicity as it's really a severe electrolyte imbalance (Mainly sodium, but other too). When you put too much water in, it pushes all the electrolytes out of your cells to try and create an equilibrium between the cells level of water & electrolytes, and the outside extra cellular environment. At the same time your kidneys cannot excrete all the extra water out fast enough into your urine which dilutes your blood electrolyte level. Result is toxicity, or hyponatremia.

Here's what I have learned about water intake from research & studying about human physiology & anatomy in college. First off, don't drink purified, distilled water. Ever. That is the worst possible thing to drink. Why? It lacks vital nutrients and minerals (yes, unpurified water has minerals & nutrients that contribute to electrolyte balances). That's not to say drinking treated water or bottled spring water is bad, they have the minerals. Secondly, we don't need to increase our water intake unless we are sweating a lot. If it's hot, or if we are working out hard, then we need to add back what we lose. Another tip I found (but can't locate the source at the moment) is to calculate your actual water needs. A good recommendation is to take your body weight & divide it by half. That is the number of ounces per day you should drink. If you are working outside, sweating a lot, don't forget you need to replenish the fluid that is lost through perspiration. We sweat all the time, either sensible (the kind that you feel) or insensible (the kind you don't feel) and we exhale water vapor with every breath.

I am in no way arguing with the original poster. I am agreeing with you, and adding more information for those who want to disagree. I'm all for drinking water, but I am a huge advocate for educating people on the danger water poses when they flood themselves with it. Thank you for sharing your story, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hope this is a good warning to others to be mindful about hydration and the dangers of over doing it. Take care of yourself :flowerforyou:

Hypernatremia or hypernatraemia (see American and British English spelling differences) is an electrolyte disturbance that is defined by an elevated sodium level in the blood.[1] Hypernatremia is generally not caused by an excess of sodium, but rather by a relative deficit of free water in the body. For this reason, hypernatremia is often synonymous with the less precise term, "dehydration".

Sorry to disagree....hypernatremia or hypernatraemia....a/k/a Dehydration.