I know with many things it is bad if you eat or drink too much of it, but is this true also for water? If you happened to drink five gallons of water in one day, healthwise, is it bad to drink that much water?

Kainantu

Drinking too much water is dangerous because the body cannot excrete that much fluid. Excess water then goes to the bowel, which pulls salt into it from the body, diluting the concentration of salt in the tissues. Changing the concentration of salt, in turn, causes a shifting of fluids within the body, which can then induce a swelling in the brain. The swollen organ will then press against the bones of the skull, and become damaged. Previous cases of water toxicity have been noted in athletes who consume excessive amounts in order to avoid heat stroke. In 1998, the Army released fluid replacement guidelines, which recommend a certain intake of water but limit it to 1 to 1-1/2 quarts per hour and 12 quarts per day http://www.mercola.com/2002/jul/20/water.htm Mar 10 03, 5:10 AM

kerry8888

if you will forgive a very untechnical reply.... as i try to keep abreast of what teens get up to these days, i have read quite a bit about the drug ecstasy. one of the causes of severe trauma and even death following the use of the drug is the excessive consumption of water - brought about by a severe and insatiable thirst as well as profuse sweating. excessive amounts of water in the body cause vital body nutrients (i cant remember the exact names) to be flushed from the body resulting in vital organs shutting down. this phenomenom has been the cause of numerous deaths at raves and the like down here in recent years. admittedly it would seem likely that the fluid is consumed over a short period of time in these cases, which may well be relevant, but i was interested that water consumption could be so harmful nonetheless.... Mar 10 03, 12:08 PM

darkpresence

I have heard that this is why competitors in ultra marathons take sodium tablets with their water -- can only imagine how much water and salt is lost by running 96 miles through the desert in a single day. Sep 17 11, 10:46 AM

serpa

A woman in a radio show contest died after drinking too much water. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A woman who competed in a radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without going to the bathroom died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday. Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the winner. "She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying and that was the last that anyone had heard from her." It was not immediately know how much water Strange consumed. A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/t/woman-dies-after-water-drinking-contest/ Oct 19 11, 5:17 PM