Talk:Water intoxication

Current Fatality

2007-01-14 Water intoxication fatality: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/13/water.intox.ap/index.html

Misleading Article

While I truly understand WHY the article is written this way, it may need to be said that this condition is EXTREMELY rare, because I have had many people tell me that when they discovered this condition (including myself initially) they became extremely nervous because of how much water they drink. It isn't that rare! Read the first link on the article page: http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/faculty/pbird/keepingfit/ARTICLE/toomuchwater.htm and you will see that 29% of Ironman finishers suffer from it.

At the very least, it should be mentioned that the quantity of water required to cause this condition is tremendous, and not merely slightly above average consumption. However, I'm certainly no expert, so I don't want to do this. -- Ubergenius 19:38, 22 December 2006 (UTC) Apparently it doesn't take that much: 900ml/hr sustained according to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11732457&dopt=Abstract.

84 year old man

An 84-year old male patient recovering from the removal of a small polyp in his bladder was told to drink 16 8-ounce glasses of water a day a couple of days after the procedure in order to help in "flushing out" blood remaining in the bladder. Can this lead to water intoxication under otherwise healthy conditions? -- 206.113.26.20

Hmmm, that's 3.8 litres per day. A person with two healthy kidneys can rid themselves of about 1.5 litres per hour at maximum filtration. So, I think he will be perfectly fine, provided he spreads the water intake over his whole (waking) day and also provided he has a healthy diet with normal sodium intake. -- FP 00:40, Apr 17, 2005 (UTC)

Do we assume our 84-year old male patient to have two healthy kidneys? Jimp 15:31, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Yes, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it's normal to assume healthy kidneys. In any case, 3.8 litres of water per day is far too small to present any risk of water intoxication if it is not taken in one gulp. Agateller 01:24, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Why are we speculating on something that amounts to giving medical advice? Do any of the above responses have qualifications to answer the initial question? Let's see some credentials.

How much water intoxicates?

how much water does it take to get water intoxication?Star2288 10:34, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

That depends on body weight and several other factors... theres no real quick answer.  ALKIVAR™ 18:04, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

The usual amount is in the range of litres of water, taken over a relatively short period (minutes, or an hour or two). Outside of some special circumstances (people exerting themselves and sweating profusely for many hours), water intoxication usually only occurs in people who are mentally disturbed and compulsively drink tremendous amounts of water (gallons). It's a rare condition. The healthy body's ability to deal with a large intake of water is considerable. Agateller 01:33, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

I like numbers... Check out this abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11732457&dopt=Abstract

This article was the first I'd heard of W.I.

...and it scared the hell out of me when I first read it. Drinking large amounts of water has been a major factor in my weight loss (50 lbs. in ~ 6 months). I carried around a 32-ounce water cup like it was a growth on my hand. I'm still here, so I guess I'm doing something right. JMD4LSU 22:44, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

No worries, scared me too but assuming you get plenty of electrolytes, the only way water can hurt you is if the kidney can't process it fast enough. Of course, I happen to think the kidney will adapt... Tyciol 21:00, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Water intoxication is extraordinarily rare. It occurs on rare occasions in people who drink a great deal of water over a prolonged period to replace water lost in sweat, vomit, or diarrhea, and it can also occur (even more rarely) in people who drink a tremendous amount of water (many litres) over a short period and are not perspiring heavily. Overall, the risk of water intoxication has been dramatically exaggerated in recent years. It's really not something that should be high on the list of anyone's worries. Agateller 01:26, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

It's not that rare! http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/faculty/pbird/keepingfit/ARTICLE/toomuchwater.htm

Major rewrite by Technopilgrim

I made quite a few changes to the article to clear up various errors, expand some information, and remove some irrelevant material. Some comments on the edits:

• I removed the mention of pulmonary edema -- as far as I know this is not related to water intoxication. If you know otherwise, please put the information back along with a reference.
• I placed more emphasis on sodium levels to clarify the entire mechanism
• The section on urine color doesn't belong on the water intoxication page. Urine color is not a good indicator of water intoxication because sodium in the urine is colorless. In theory you could have any color urine and have water intoxication, or not have water intoxication.
• I've added info on the relationship of water intoxication to diabetics and psychiatric patients to complement the good information on atheletes and drug users already in the article. I've added headers to make things more organized.
• added notes to medical journal sources

technopilgrim 23:11, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Removed the line about intoxication and being light headed - intoxication scientifically means being poisoned by a substance, not in relation to the verb "being intoxicated" ie by alcohol - schoolboy error, in my opinion - Gruffy 15:51, 17 May 2006

Regarding the picture

The caption given declares that the glass is half full; surely many may view it as half empty, an equally valid opinion, therefore the current caption does not conform to wikipedia rules on NPOV. -Unknown

The new way is pedantic and seems like a complex joke. I would prefer it to say a glass of water, and so it shall. 66.41.66.213 11:57, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

I think the picture of a glass of water adds nothing to the article. I personally think it should be removed. --Burbster 17:36, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree. The picture doesn't contribute anything. --WillNL 10:53, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Merge with Hyponatremia?

I'm just wondering, these things sound almost identical. I suppose if you had hyponatremia as an imbalance of salts, and water intoxication is just one way to get it, it makes sense, but then what are the others? Tyciol 21:00, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

There are other ways to develop hyponatremia: in kidney disease, through mismanagement of electrolyte balance in patients receiving TPN or NG nutrition, in disease states producing profuse vomiting or diarrhea, etc. Water intoxication is a consequence of hyponatremia, not a cause, but usually when people speak of water intoxication, they mean specifically hyponatremia that results from consuming too much hypotonic fluid in too short a time. Note that other types of electrolyte imbalance can occur as a result of overconsumption of water, too, but they are even more rare. Lately it seems that people have developed a bit of a fixation on water intoxication; it's actually very rare. Agateller 01:30, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

should i be worried?

i enjoy distending my stomach to huge proportions by drinking large amounts (two litres at least) of water should i be worried? 2 liters per day is a recommended amount for certain activities and climates. It is not excessive.

I am no expert at all, so if you die its not my fault. First, why do you enjoy doing that? Considering why you do it may be something you want to think about. On a positive note, it is a better habit than drinking 2 liters of beer to disentend the stomach haha. If you really enjoy this, what about either A) mixing some gatoraid in with it to get some electrolytes, or even taking an electrolyte pill or eat like a salty (NaCl) bannana (K+) prior to doing it. Just something to think about. Rjkd12 16:03, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

As with the above, the best thing to do is to eat something. Try a banana and french fries, or a sub from Subway. ~ PHDrillSergeant...§ 18:50, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Toxic?

"Water itself is not toxic to the body in any amount."

Water is not toxic but can kill you if you drink to much of it. So what does "toxic" mean?

This is arguing semantics. I kinda agree with you. On a similar note I think that carbon monoxide shouldn't be considered "Toxic" because it doesn't actually hurt you, it makes it so you can't get any oxygen and you suffoccate. Since it doesn't cause any necrosis or doesn't directly damage tissue, like an acid or fire or something, I don't know if I personally condier it toxic. Granted, I am in the minority and most consider things like carbon monixide toxic and water potentially toxic considering it can kill you by causing an imbalace. Maybe since the "toxic" effects of water are secondary (the water doesn't hurt you, it leeches electrolytes from you) it maybe isn't as toxic. What was the question again? haha. Rjkd12 16:03, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

Redundancy

After reading this articly, I came to the conclusion that about 50% of the article summarises in: "Drinking an excessive ammount of water in a short period to rehydrate are at risk of water intoxication." Every paragraphs in the article contain this idea at least once, those could be removed to make it ligther and focus more on what really causes the problem (which is already explained in the first paragraph anyway), and not repeat the general idea. TiCPU 14:55, 24 December 2006 (UTC)

Inappropriate subheadings and/or language

"All the creatures in this sexy world"? Come on, that doesn't belong in an encylopedia. This is a case of vandalism. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 161.200.255.162 (talk) 01:51, 15 January 2007 (UTC).

OJ Simpson?

Looks like a case of vandalism in the first paragraph:

"Body fluids contain electrolytes (particularly sodium compounds, such as sodium chloride) in concentrations that must be held within very narrow limits, according to OJ Simpson. Water enters the body orally..."