Introduction
Drinking enough water provides health benefits, however, drinking too much water, for example -4 liters of water, over a short period leads to water intoxication. For a good metabolism, a normal human body needs about two liters of water.
Can drinking lots of water cause hyponatremia?
Water intoxication is a rare phenomenon that occurs due to excessive water consumption and when the amount of ingested water exceeds the excretion of water in the kidneys. As a result, the concentration of sodium in the blood is diluted and hyponatremia develops.
How much water do you need to drink for hyponatremia to occur?
The study authors report that symptoms of hyponatremia can develop if a person drinks to 4 liters of water in a short time, although they don’t give an exact estimated time. According to a case report, soldiers developed symptoms after consuming at least pints (.9 liters) of water per hour.
What happens if you drink too much water?
When you drink too much water, your kidneys cannot get rid of the extra water. The sodium content of your blood is diluted. This is called hyponatremia and can be life threatening.
Can drinking too much water lead to low chloride levels?
Although very rare, low blood chloride levels can also be caused by drinking large amounts of water, not getting enough chloride from food, and certain genetic disorders.
How to quickly solve overhydration?
How is overhydration treated?
Reduce your fluid intake.
Take diuretics to increase the amount of urine you produce.
Treat the condition that caused the overhydration.
Stop any medication that is causing the problem.
Replace sodium in severe cases.
How much water per day is too much?
But how much water is too much? Drinking more than the kidneys can eliminate could cause hyponatremia in some people, says Hultin, noting that the kidneys can eliminate 7 to 4 ounces of water per hour, or a total of 676 to 947 ounces (0 to 8 liters) per day. . . More than that could put you in the danger zone.
Will eating more salt help hyponatremia?
In elderly patients on a diet low in protein and sodium, hyponatremia be aggravated by low solute intake. The kidney’s need to excrete solutes facilitates water excretion. An increase in protein and salt in the diet can help improve water excretion. 0
How fast can you fix hyponatremia?
The target sodium correction rate is 6 to 8 mEq/L in 4 hours, to 4 mEq/L in 48 hours. Use hypertonic saline solution for severe symptomatic hyponatremia.
Conclusion
For most people, there really is no limit to daily water intake and one gallon a day is not harmful. But for those with congestive heart failure or end-stage kidney disease, it is sometimes necessary to restrict water because the body cannot process it properly.
