Doctors WARN Drinking Too Much Water Is DANGEROUS - Here's Why!

Doctors at King’s College Hospital are warning the public that drinking lots of fluids when you are sick could be dangerous.

The doctors are issuing the warning after a 59-year-old woman overdosed on water after she became ill due to a urinary tract infection.

The woman was drinking half a pint of water or more every thirty minutes before she was admitted to A&E. Doctors there diagnosed her with dangerously low levels of salt in her blood.

Patients with abnormally low salt levels have a death rate of almost 30 percent.

After the woman was admitted her condition worsened. The doctors described, “During her visit to the emergency department, she became progressively shaky and muddled. She vomited several times, was tremulous and exhibited significant speech difficulties.”

This video explains precisely what occurs when too much water is ingested:

Fortunately, the doctors were able to save the woman’s life by restricting her fluid consumption to only one liter over the next 24 hours.

The patient described her life threatening experience, “I lost 24 hours of my life when a simple UTI, or rather my actions in response to it, took over my life.” She continued, “I remember seeing my hand in front of me shaking rather violently and I wondered why I could not stop it, then realised that my whole body was shaking.”

It took her almost two weeks to get back to normal.

“It took about a week to feel ‘normal’ again and if I am honest I think I was tired for at least another week.”

This woman was very lucky. The doctors reported another woman suffering from gastroenteritis died from overdosing on water.

Certain segments of the population are at higher risk. People who take the drug MDMA and participate in endurance sports are at high risk for low salt levels.

Dr. Laura Christine Lee and Dr. Maryann Noronha warned the public about water consumption.

“The harmful effects of increased fluid intake include confusion, vomiting and speech disturbance, and potential for catastrophic outcomes due to low blood sodium concentrations.”

However, Dr. Imran Rafi at the Royal College of GPs warned that drinking water is important in “keeping healthy, both physically and mentally, and patients should keep their fluids up when unwell, particularly in conditions that can cause dehydration.”

He went on:

We would encourage patients to drink more if they have symptoms of dehydration, such as feeling thirsty – including in hot weather or when exercising – or passing dark-coloured urine. There is no steadfast recommendation as to how much water people should drink in order to stay healthy, but the key thing is to keep hydrated – and passing clear urine is a good indication of this.

This case report highlights that excessive water intake can have important consequences for patients, and this is something that healthcare professionals, and patients, should be mindful of.

Doctors WARN Drinking Too Much Water Is DANGEROUS – Here’s Why!