Health
The Risks of Too Much Water: Recognizing Overhydration Warning Signs
Carrying around giant tumblers of liquids is in vogue, but have we overstepped the boundary and entered the realm of “peak hydration culture”? Colleen Muñoz, director and co-founder of the Hydration Health Center at the University of Hartford, shares that most people don’t need to constantly fill up on water out of fear of dehydration.
Often, Muñoz reveals, it’s not usually the case that we are chronically dehydrated. What about consuming too much water? Can that be harmful? Let’s hear what the experts advise.
News Flash: Severe water intoxication is a bona fide risk, and its symptoms are alarming. “Water intoxication comes from drinking too much water,” nurse practitioner Elizabeth Clay from OSF HealthCare explains.
“And it can lead to some severe symptoms. You can get a headache, disorientation, confusion, nausea, vomiting – it can even be fatal.”
In addition, muscle weakness, double vision, and a spike in blood pressure are all potent signs of water intoxication. Clay continues, “The amount of water that a person should consume is going to be individualized. But overall, your kidneys can only handle so much. And that’s between 0.8 and one liter. So, you really don’t want to be taking in more than that per hour in water.”
Hyponatremia, a condition caused when the body’s sodium level dips too low due to excessive sodium loss in sweat or urine, or by consuming an abundance of water without any electrolytes, can be triggered by overhydration. This condition is explained by pediatrician and sports medicine specialist Jeffery Cline, MD, from the University of Utah Health.
Interestingly, the desire to avoid dehydration can sometimes result in the opposite problem: consuming too much water too quickly. Clay warns, “Dehydration can play a major role in water intoxication because when a person feels that they’re getting dehydrated, they may try to overcompensate and may drink too much water at one time, and your body can’t handle that.”
“So, you’ll start to get these symptoms whether it’s nausea, vomiting, confusion – just disruption of your brain activity – and that comes from that depletion of sodium. And so, your cells inside your brain are holding on to that water and it causes swelling inside your brain and that can lead to some serious complications.”
In the worst-case scenario, overhydration could result in extreme symptoms like mental confusion, seizures, and even coma, according to Gundersen Health. The initial remedy is to cease fluid intake, which can lead to recovery in a few hours. However, in more severe cases, immediate medical intervention may be crucial.
Other potential signs of excessive water intake, as noted by the Mayo Clinic, could include loss of energy, drowsiness, fatigue, vision problems, muscle cramps, or elevated blood pressure levels. Candacy George, D. O., from ChristianaCare News adds, “In rare cases, overhydration may cause breathing difficulties, seizures and even death.”
So, what’s the optimal level of hydration? According to the National Academy of Medicine, women should aim for 9 cups of water daily, while men should strive for 13. One’s urine color can also be a useful indicator of hydration levels; a pale yellow color suggests proper hydration. Darker urine may indicate dehydration, while clear urine combined with high water intake could hint at overhydration, says George.
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