It seems to easy to die from drinking too much water

Lately I have read a few news articles of people who have died from drinking too much water. The numbers they seem to be taking seem to differ quite drastically and I suppose it all depends on the individuals kidneys. I read about one person who died from drinking 2 gallons of water in a short space of time, and another person who died from just drinking 3 litres in 3 hours. I think its a bit silly that our bodies seem to react this way to such a healthy drink yet give us no warning that this is too much.

I drink alot of water aday as I am sure alot of other people do, I have never felt ill (though I couldn't give you an exact number of how many 500ml bottles I intake a day) nor have I ever had any problems other then just going toilet alot.

So my question is, how easy is it really to drink too much? I mean 3 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles) but apparently it is and it causes your brain to swell and you eventually collapse and die. So what are your thoughts?

I'm guessing you're not familiar with the concept of salt balance.

I´m drinking right now :-O

@Video_Game_King said:

I'm guessing you're not familiar with the concept of salt balance.

@Silock said:

6 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles)

Or the concept of maths :P

I have no idea, but I find I feel sick if I drink a bunch of water fast, so that'd be a good signal as any to me to stop.

I've yet to die from drinking water so I would think it's really hard.

@Chavtheworld said:

@Video_Game_King said:

I'm guessing you're not familiar with the concept of salt balance.

@Silock said:

6 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles)

Or the concept of maths :P

I have no idea, but I find I feel sick if I drink a bunch of water fast, so that'd be a good signal as any to me to stop.

mean't to say 3 litres.

@Silock said:

I mean 6 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles) but apparently it is and it causes your brain to swell and you eventually collapse and die. So what are your thoughts?

Wouldn't that be twelve bottles? Also like Video Game King said, just eating some sodium should keep death away. Assuming this is all in reasonable measures.

@Silock:

Why did you Twitter link our names?

@Silock said:

So my question is, how easy is it really to drink too much? I mean 6 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles) but apparently it is and it causes your brain to swell and you eventually collapse and die. So what are your thoughts?

Jebus, I don't even drink that much in 3 days.

Then again, I drink a loooooot of milk.

Your body does warn you. Sure, water is healthy, but taking too much of anything is bad for you. That's why there are recommended doses and consumption rates.

6 litres in 3 hours? Digusting. You would have to go to the toilet in literally every 5 minutes.

@Silock: It really isn't unless you constantly stretch your stomach. Your body is built so it doesn't actively kill itself unless your brain decides otherwise, but have you ever eaten too much food before? You'll throw up. Same thing if you drink too much water.

Remember when that woman died from water intoxication while trying to win a Wii from a radio station? Story

I drink a lot but I don't drink nearly enough to die from water. I drink about 3 liter bottles a day.

I googled and found a site that calculates how much you should drink based on different parameters and it said 3.3 liters so I'm fine.

Fatty acids are also essential nutrients, you should see what happens when you down 2 gallons of fat.
 
Foods are not healthy/unhealthy or good/bad for you.  Diets are healthy/unhealthy, and drinking 3 liters of water in 3 hours would make for an unhealthy diet.

@PenguinDust said:

Remember when that woman died from water intoxication while trying to win a Wii from a radio station? Story

Thats very sad.

@PenguinDust said:

Remember when that woman died from water intoxication while trying to win a Wii from a radio station? Story

First thing I thought of, though I had never actually seen the story before. Man, that is so sad!

Drowning doesn't count? It's good to stay hydrated but there are limitations on much the body can take.

these pretzels are making me thirsty!

@BraveToaster said:

Your body does warn you. Sure, water is healthy, but taking too much of anything is bad for you. That's why there are recommended doses and consumption rates.

This, Your body usually dose warn you when your about to die. But some people ignore it, or cant interpret the signals correctly.

@PenguinDust said:

Remember when that woman died from water intoxication while trying to win a Wii from a radio station? Story

That's such a bummer.

Dude 6x 500ml bottles in 3 hrs is a lot of water in that timeframe! Especially if you're not working out/in a very hot climate

these pretzels are making me thirsty!

@Clonedzero said:

these pretzels are making me thirsty!

The body thing is BIG deal, I've probably drunk more than 4 litters in 3 hours. I don't really understand how its possible to overdrink, I mean if your thirsty, drink, if your not, don't.

@gamefreak9 said:

I don't really understand how its possible to overdrink.

People making bets, water consumption contests, drugs (Ecstasy, for example, has resulted in people consuming a lot of water and dying), strenuous exercise without properly replenishing electrolytes (just drinking a ton of water)... I understand how that's possible

WAIT, FOOD AND ALL DRINKS CONTAIN WATER RIGHT? WE ARE ALL DOOOOOOMED!

Maybe it was a brilliantly planned murders

this guy is ok

@RenMcKormack: Oh Japan!

Kinda weird to think that water can essentially be a poison, but in a large enough quantity it can definitely be fatal.

This is why I replaced my Water with Diet Coke. Genius right here.

@Silock said:

So my question is, how easy is it really to drink too much? I mean 6 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles) but apparently it is and it causes your brain to swell and you eventually collapse and die. So what are your thoughts?

Jebus, I don't even drink that much in 3 days.

Then again, I drink a loooooot of milk.

@Rappelsiini said:

@Cloudenvy

@Silock said:

So my question is, how easy is it really to drink too much? I mean 6 litres in 3 hours doesn't seem like an awful lot (thats just 6 500ml bottles) but apparently it is and it causes your brain to swell and you eventually collapse and die. So what are your thoughts?

Jebus, I don't even drink that much in 3 days.

Then again, I drink a loooooot of milk.

Milk is fucking delicious!

Yeah it is! *high fives*

Stop doing so much E, guys.

Lots of marathon runners die of water intoxication (far more than ever die of dehydration). Taking salt is the usual treatment but past a certain point it can be a bit touch and go. Your body certainly does warn you though, it's definitely unpleasant to drink so much water in such a short space of time - and you usually feel faint/dizzy and possibly have a headache.

Also, this is mainly a matter of body size, volume consumed and most crucially time. Drinking litres of water in a space of minutes is going to be a concern, but over the course of a number of hours to a day? That's not an issue. If you're really concerned then drink isotonic sports drinks. They have a similar salt constitution as that of blood, so you have less need to worry about diluting your blood.

different people are different. i drink half a gallon a day sometimes. it usually when i am working out.

Hey, Enigma had a thread where he almost killed himself doing this. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

If you want to die REAL fast from drinking water, use distilled.

You can also die if you consume more apples then a human can possibly eat- i don't remember the exact amount, but apples are naturally poisonous but its only harmful if you eat a ton of them.

I don't get what you're getting at, here. Anything is poisonous if you consume to much of it. The amount of water you'd have to consume would be way more then your body would let you drink. Only way would be to force yourself maybe.

The moral is stop consuming when your full, i guess?

I only clicked on this topic because I thought your avatar was Zooey Deschanel. Then I realized it was Katy Perry. Now it is time to leave disappointed.

Also, you don't really need to worry about drinking too much water and dying from it. Drinking about eight glasses of water rapidly is pretty much a guaranteed puke. Your body doesn't let you accidentally do this to yourself.

Huh. I drink a few pint glasses of water back to back a few times a day because it stops me from getting spots. Maybe I should cut back on the old h20, but I need my fix of that crystal clear heaven, I'm itching for a hit of liquid refreshment.

You made the very same topic on GameSpot's OT...you expect a different answer here? You would die from having a increased cerebral liquor volume, increasing cerebral pressure that cause brain stem compressions.

Who the fuck drinks 3 litres of water in 3 hours.....  

You can drink whatever amount of water without dying, as long as you follow up with something with electrolytes in it. The whole Drinking yourself to death only happens when your electrolytes are put out of balance. I think

It seems too easy to die if you jump in a fire. Or if you slit your wrists. Or inhale liquids. The trick is to not be stupid and ignore your body's warning signals.
 
It seems like it would be really painful to drink three liters of water in three hours without urinating. It also seems like being on fire or being cut or drowning would trigger something in your nervous system that would inspire you to stop doing that thing. If one doesn't take it upon themselves to notice, then they probably shouldn't reproduce. Darwinism to the rescue.

DAMMIT MAKAROV!

You Kids need to read up on your Dihydrogen Monoxide

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

Cytolysis!