what happens when you drink too much water treatment

If your doctor thinks you drink too much water, you may need to cut back. If you take diuretics, your doctor may make a change in your treatment so the sodium in your blood can go back to a normal level. How do I know if I drank too much water? Your muscles feel shaky or weak.

Full Answer

What happens if you drink too much water?

A large portion of the body is made of water, which is vital for cell function and life. Your body will alert you when it needs more water. When you drink too much, it can lead to fatal conditions. If you don't know how much water you should drink daily, stick to the popular advice of eight glasses a day.

What happens when there's too much water in the brain?

This happens when there's too much water in the cells (including brain cells), causing them to swell. When the cells in the brain swell they cause pressure in the brain.

What causes too much water in the blood?

This can cause too much water to collect in your bloodstream. This occurs when your body can’t get rid of water properly. Several medical conditions can cause your body to retain water. Both of these types are dangerous because they throw off the balance between water and sodium in your blood. What causes overhydration?

Why do people get water intoxicated?

Others have resulted from excessive water consumption due to an underlying mental health condition or forced consumption as a form of abuse. Water intoxication has also been linked to using the drug MDMA, especially at music festivals. That’s because people in these settings are often dancing for long periods of time in hot environments.

How long does water intoxication last?

At first, you might experience headaches, confusion, or drowsiness. But as the pressure increases, you risk brain damage, coma, and even death. And it could all be over in less than ten hours.

How do you tell if you're over hydrated?

For most people, dehydration is the much greater issue. However, if you suspect you may be overhydrated, look for symptoms like cloudy thinking, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps and headaches. In severe cases symptoms could include mental confusion, seizures, unconsciousness and even coma.

What happens if you drink too much fluids?

When you drink too much water, your kidneys can't get rid of the excess water. The sodium content of your blood becomes diluted. This is called hyponatremia and it can be life-threatening.

Can you drink too much electrolytes?

Drinking too many electrolytes can lead to an excess in potassium, which may cause muscle weakness. If the potassium excess becomes severe, it may lead to abnormal heart rhythms, and may eventually cause the heart to stop beating, according to the Merck Manual.

What are the symptoms of too much electrolytes?

When someone has too many or too few electrolytes, they can experience several symptoms, including:Fatigue.Headaches.Weak muscles.Cramps.Numbness.Tingling.Fast or irregular heartbeat.Seizures.More items...•

Why do I feel sick after drinking water?

If you only drink after eating a meal, you may experience some nausea because you may be uncomfortably full. On the other hand, if you only drink on an empty stomach, you may experience nausea due to the fact that your body is low on energy and hungry for food!

Is 1 gallon of water a day too much?

Can drinking a gallon of water a day be harmful? For most people, there is really no limit for daily water intake and a gallon a day is not harmful. But for those who have congestive heart failure or end stage kidney disease, sometimes water needs to be restricted because the body can't process it correctly.

Why does my stomach hurt after drinking too much water?

It is said that too much consumption of water can lead to fluid overload in the body and imbalance in the body. Excess water can lead to lower sodium levels in the body, which may further lead to nausea, vomiting, cramps, fatigue, et al. This condition is known as hyponatremia. 2.

Is 4 Litres of water a day too much?

Drinking enough water offers health benefits, however, drinking too much water, such as 3-4 liters of water, in a short period leads to water intoxication. For proper metabolism, a normal human body requires about two liters of water.

What happens if you drink too much water?

When you drink too much water, you may experience water poisoning, intoxication, or a disruption of brain function. This happens when there's too much water in the cells (including brain cells), causing them to swell. When the cells in the brain swell they cause pressure in the brain. You may start experiencing things like confusion, drowsiness, ...

How to avoid drinking too much water?

A third way to avoid drinking too much water is to be aware of when your body needs it. The body can fight against dehydration by letting you know when you need to drink some water. Thirst is the body’s response to dehydration and should be your guiding cue. Nausea or vomiting.

What does it mean when you have too much water in your body?

The symptoms of overhydration can look like those of dehydration. When you have too much water in the body, the kidneys can't remove the excess liquid. It starts collecting in the body, leading to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Throbbing headaches all through the day.

What happens when you are overhydrated?

When you’re overhydrated, you will notice some swelling or discoloration of your feet, hands, and lips. When the cells swell, the skin will also swell. Weak muscles that cramp easily. When the electrolyte levels drop because of drinking too much water, your body balance goes down.

How to tell if you're drinking enough water?

The color of your urine. One of the best ways to determine if you’re drinking enough water is to monitor the color of your urine. It usually ranges from pale yellow to tea-colored due to the combination of the pigment urochrome and the water level in your body.

How much water should a woman drink?

Women 19 to 30 years old should drink about 2.7 liters of water daily. Men of the same age need about 3.7 liters. Relying on your thirst levels may not work for everyone, especially athletes, older people, and pregnant women. A large portion of the body is made of water, which is vital for cell function and life.

What happens when the brain swells?

When the cells in the brain swell they cause pressure in the brain. You may start experiencing things like confusion, drowsiness, and headaches. If this pressure increases it could cause conditions like hypertension (High Blood Pressure) and bradycardia (Low Heart Rate) .

Why does drinking water make you intoxicated?

Bottom line: Water intoxication results from drinking too much water. The excess water dilutes sodium in the blood and causes fluids to move inside cells, causing them to swell.

What are the symptoms of water intoxication?

The symptoms of water intoxication are general — they can include confusion, disorientation, nausea, and vomiting. In rare cases, water intoxication can cause swelling in the brain and become fatal. This article describes the symptoms, causes, and effects of water intoxication. It also looks into how much water a person should drink each day.

How many liters of water did a prisoner drink in 3 hours?

describes the development of hyponatremia after drinking more than 5 liters in a few hours. in an otherwise healthy 22-year-old prisoner who drank 6 liters of water in 3 hours. , a 9-year-old girl developed water intoxication after consuming 3.6 liters of water in 1–2 hours.

How much water does a 9 year old drink?

Trusted Source. , a 9-year-old girl developed water intoxication after consuming 3.6 liters of water in 1–2 hours. Bottom line: The kidneys can remove 20–28 liters of water per day, but they cannot excrete more than 0.8 to 1.0 liters per hour. Drinking more than this can be harmful.

Why do endurance athletes drink water?

It can happen if a person drinks a lot of water without correctly accounting for electrolyte losses. For this reason, hyponatremia often occurs during major sporting events.

How much water does the kidneys remove?

The amount of water is not the only factor — time also plays a role. According to figures quoted in a 2013 study, the kidneys can eliminate about 20–28 liters of water a day, but they can remove no more than 0.8 to 1.0 liters every hour.

Why does sodium swell?

Sodium helps maintain the balance of fluids inside and outside of cells. When sodium levels drop due to excessive water consumption, fluids travel from the outside to the inside of cells, causing them to swell.

What happens when you drink more water than your kidneys can process?

Overhydration occurs when someone drinks more water or fluid than what their kidneys can process.

What is it called when you drink too much water?

Drinking too much water is called ‘Over Drinking’ or ‘Overhydration’ , and it can lead to some serious side effects, which we will get into later on in this article.

How much fluid should a man drink a day?

15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluid a day for men

What happens if the pressure in the brain continues to grow?

If the pressure in the brain continues to grow, it can lead to conditions such as Hypertension and Bradycardia.

What is water poisoning?

Also called ‘water poisoning’, it is a disruption of brain functions due to excessive consumption of ‘H2O’.

What happens if you drop sodium?

A quick drop in sodium levels can result in medical emergencies, as it can cause loss of consciousness, seizures, as well as induce a coma.

Is drinking water harmful to humans?

The very essence of human life can be boiled down to one thing: water. It’s not only the foundation for human life but life itself, as the first creatures to ever exist formed in the vast oceans, around 3 billion years ago. So crucial to life itself, is it possible for it to be harmful for us? Surprisingly, yes. Over drinking is a real thing, and today, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about it.

What happens when you drink too much water?

When you drink too much water, the salt concentration in your blood reduces, causing the cells in the organs throughout your body to swell. When your salt concentration is low, your cells grow. When you drink too much water, your brain actually grows in size and presses against the skull.

How is it possible to drink too much water?

Health authorities have educated us that drinking enough water is absolutely vital for our bodies to function properly. And it is—unless you drink too much of it. Though most people look out for the signs of dehydration, overhydration is equally as dangerous. Drinking too much water can result in water intoxication, also known as hyponatremia, causing the inside of your cells to flood due to abnormally low sodium levels in your bloodstream. In severe cases, water intoxication can lead to serious health problems such as seizures, coma, and, in rare cases, even death.

What does it feel like to be overhydrated?

PhotoAlto/Alix Minde/Getty Images. You feel nauseous and may experience vomiting. The symptoms of overhydration look a lot like those of dehydration, according to Hew-Butler. When you drink too much water, your kidneys become unable to get rid of the excess liquid, and water starts to collect in the body.

How to prevent urination at night?

To prevent nighttime urination, have your last glass of water a couple hours before bed to give your kidneys time to filter the water through your body. (Frequent urination could be an indicator of diabetes insipidus, too.) PhotoAlto/Alix Minde/Getty Images. You feel nauseous and may experience vomiting.

How much brain swell before skull?

“Your brain can only swell about 8 to 10% before it reaches the skull and it pushes your brain stem out,” says Hew-Butler.

How do you know if you need more water?

The best way to know if your body really needs more water is to be consciously aware of whether or not you actually feel thirsty. “Our bodies are so programmed to fight against dehydration because we’ve always been living in fear of scarcity or not having enough, so we have all of these built-in mechanisms to protect us against that,” Hew-Butler says. “One of these mechanisms that all animals have is thirst. Thirst is every body’s individual monitor that lets them know if they need more. The more water you need, the thirstier you get.” Here are unexpected reasons you’re always thirsty.

Why do I drink so much water?

If you carry around your water bottle all day and immediately refill it when it depletes, you may be drinking too much water. Constantly adding water to your body can result in low sodium levels in your blood, which can cause all of the cells in your body to swell. According to Tamara Hew-Butler, PhD, an exercise science professor at Oakland University in Rochester, MI, this can become particularly dangerous when your brain starts to swell. “Your brain can only swell about 8 to 10% before it reaches the skull and it pushes your brain stem out,” says Hew-Butler.

What happens if you drink water?

If you or someone else is showing any signs or symptoms of water intoxication, especially seizures or drowsiness, it’s best to seek immediate medical attention. As fluid builds up in the body, all of its cells, including brain cells, begin to swell. Swelling in the brain can eventually lead to coma, seizures, and death if a doctor doesn’t treat it ...

What happens if you drink more water than your kidneys can flush out?

If you drink more water than your kidneys can flush out, it’ll dilute the sodium in your bloodstream, causing cells to swell. Most of the reported cases of life-threatening water intoxication have involved intense physical activity, such as military training or running a marathon.

How to tell if you need to drink water?

In these cases, you can usually look to your urine color and thirst level to tell you whether you really need to be drinking extra water. If you’re concerned about your water intake, talk to your healthcare provider. They can give you more specific recommendations based on your overall health, size, and other factors.

How much water does the kidneys flush out?

The kidneys of a healthy adult can flush out 20 to 28 L of water each day, but they can only get rid of about 1 L each hour. This makes it hard for your kidneys to keep up when you drink more than 1 L per hour.

How to avoid water intoxication?

Generally, it’s best to stick with drinking water at the first feeling of thirst. Once you feel quenched, hold off until you start to feel thirsty again.

How much water can kill you?

There aren’t any firm guidelines about how much water can kill you, but drinking more than a liter (L) or so per hour for several hours isn’t something doctors recommend.

Can water intoxication cause seizures?

nausea or vomiting. drowsiness and fatigue. In more severe cases, water intoxication can also cause seizures or loss of consciousness. If a person doesn’t receive treatment, water intoxication can be fatal.

Drinking too much water and water poisoning

Water poisoning occurs due to drinking too much water in a short period of time. Under normal conditions, the kidneys drain excess water, but if you drink too much water, the excessive amount of fluid may be too much for your kidneys.

Conclusion

Although drinking water has many benefits, as with everything, drinking too much water might cause harm.