Hyponatremia (Water Intoxication)

November 1, 2023

4 min read

Water is one of our basic requirements for survival and living a healthy life. You’ve probably been told throughout your life to drink more water. Not enough of this vital substance can result in dehydration, headaches, heat stroke (in hot environments), kidney stones, constipation, and in extreme cases, death, along with a long list of other problems and unpleasant effects.

What you may not know is that too much water isn’t a good thing either. You may have heard too much of anything (or too much of a good thing), is bad. Unfortunately, this applies to water as well.

Recently, water consumption reached the headlines as Chris Pratt revealed his exercise routine, nutrition, and daily water consumption. Vanity Fair reported that Chris Pratt consumes one ounce of water for every pound he weighs every day, due to a recommendation from his nutritionist. For anyone, this would seem like overkill, but with a big guy like Chris Pratt, the amount of water borders on the absurd.

This reporting resulted in concern as doctors mentioned that consuming this much water could result in something known as water intoxication, a condition that many people have never heard of.

So should you be worried about overhydrating and getting water intoxication? What even is it and what are the causes and symptoms? Below, we’ll answer all of these questions and more, so put down that drinking glass and (safely) dive into the figurative waters of overhydration as we discuss this mysterious subject.

What is water intoxication?

Water intoxication, sometimes referred to as hyponatremia, is an uncommon condition caused by drinking too much water. Specifically, hyponatremia means that the sodium level in the blood is below normal. When you overhydrate and have hyponatremia, your kidneys are unable to process the large quantity of water, causing a slew of ill effects.

What are the effects of water Intoxication?

Besides inhibiting the kidney’s ability to eliminate water, overhydrating like this also causes a disruption of brain function. What follows is the blood being flooded by too much water, diluting essential electrolytes like sodium.

When sodium levels sink below 135 millimoles per liter, a person is said to have hyponatremia. Because sodium is a vital electrolyte that supports the balance of fluids inside and out of cells, falling below this level can result in the cells swelling to abnormal sizes. When brain cells begin to swell, the consequences are dangerous and can even be fatal.

What are the symptoms of overhydration?

If you drink a lot of water on a daily basis you probably thought that it was one of the healthy things you had going for yourself. That is likely still the case, overhydration and hyponatremia are rare, so don’t stop hydrating.

If you’re worried about overhydration, look out for the following symptoms:

Headache
Double vision
Confusion and/or unable to identify sensory data
Vomiting and nausea
Fatigue, drowsiness, and loss of energy
Irritability and restlessness
Muscle weakness, cramps, and spasms
Seizures
Coma

How does overhydration happen?

Overhydration is very rare. As we discussed, it shouldn’t even be a concern for most people. Drinking a lot of water is important, but overdoing it may be difficult or unpleasant for many people.

Instances of water intoxication generally occur due to psychiatric disorders, forced water intake (often as a form of child abuse), and unintentional overhydration by a doctor or healthcare professional due to the introduction of fluids that do not contain enough solutes for the blood (iatrogenic infusion of hypotonic fluids).

Other causes of overhydration include conditions that make you overly thirsty, including:

Schizophrenia
MDMA/ecstasy
Diuretics (medications that make your body produce more urine)
Antipsychotic drugs

Conditions that cause your body to retain water may also be responsible for overhydration, including:

Kidney issues
Congestive heart failure (CHF)
Liver disease
Uncontrolled diabetes
Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIAH)
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

So if you’re thinking that you or someone you know may be overhydrating, chances are they’re not. As you can see, overhydration isn’t something that just happens to anyone.

Takeaway

You can continue drinking now if you like. Water intoxication while serious isn’t something that most people have to worry about. Just going about your daily life drinking lots of water will almost certainly not lead to overhydrating and hyponatremia. So don’t use it as an excuse to drink less water.

On the other hand, if you have someone in your life who has been warning you about the ill effects of too much water, send this article to them to let them know that unless you fall into any of the categories under “How Does Overhydration Happen?”, you’re in no danger.

Sources