Talk:Water intoxication/Archive 1

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 24 August 2021 and 20 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Tguagent.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 12:43, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

"How To" tag
I don't think the prevention section should have a how to tag on it. Stylistically, it's written in the third person, not the second (i.e. "Water intoxication can be prevented" instead of "You can prevent water intoxication." And the prevention of a medical disorder is legitimate information in an article on that disorder. Huadpe (talk) 06:42, 19 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Most of these such preventable medical risks articles have such a section. I'm gonna be bold and remove the tag. 24.97.120.131 (talk) 23:23, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Drug Users?
"Users of drugs, such as ecstacy are at risk. See the case on Leah Betts." The use of ecstasy does not affect the bodies response to water intoxication. Leah Betts died as result of government misinformation and drank too much water when she didn't need to. That is why she died.

However, I would like to add this: Around the time of Leah Bett's death, I was a user of ecstacy (to a maximum of 12 tablets over a weekend). The effect I used to get from the drug was always accompanied by a raging thirst, mostly due to dry mouth. The government (maybe, plus many other sources), did say that as uses we were at risk of dehyration, as users would spend a lot of time dancing in a hot environment, and wuld therefore need to rehydrate more often due to exessive sweating. But then they also said we were at the risk of all sorts of other problems associated with taking this and other drugs. Here is a list of people to blame for individual's drug related deaths. (Rearrange to the correct order):
 * Not sure I agree with the above comment. Although, I will not say it's untrue.

The individual. The individual's peers/mates. The dealer. The supplier. The importer. The grower. The local government to the grower. The UK government (for trying to offer advice, in an attempt to save it's citizen's lives). Bearing in mind research on drugs takes decades, not days. The individual's parents. Infinite others??

MO1978 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.254.82.44 (talk) 22:53, 29 September 2010 (UTC)

With regard to the newspaper coverage, might it be more accurate to say "incorrectly", rather than "mistakenly"? Whilst knowing the intent of the publishers would be all but impossible, and equally so to say for certain whether the editors knew the detail of the coroner's finding, the former suggests that the wrongly believed her death to be caused by the drug she took, and there was definitely a preference by the authorities for her death to be unambiguously described as being caused by the drug, rather than it being a contributing factor. Philculmer (talk) 17:53, 12 August 2022 (UTC)

Update on the Jennifer Strange death
"Sacramento Sheriff John McGinness, alarmed by audio recordings obtained by The Bee of the radio show contest that may have led to the death of 28-year-old Jennifer Lea Strange, has directed homicide detectives to look into whether a crime was committed during the water-drinking contest sponsored by the "Morning Rave" show on The End radio station (KDND, 107.9)." From here: http://www.sacbee.com/102/story/109231.html Here is a link to some audio clips from the show in question: http://www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/kdndslides/

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.


 * That's not a fair conclusion based on the study. The study concluded the kidney's excrete at maximum of 900 ml/hr - even if you consume more water. So yes, if you consumed more than that, continuously, you could eventually wind up with a problem. But the thing is that a small surplus of water is not fatal. You'd have to consume a high enough amount that your kidney's, working to remove 900 ml an hour, could not keep up. Your kidneys are working 24/7, the average person is not drinking 24/7. Plus there's the water one would lose perspiring and exhaling and also having a bowel movement. So you would have to consume more than 900 ml/hr. Also, I'm guessing the subjects weren't dehydrated to begin with- so a dehydrated person could consume much more than this. I'd say 900 ml/hr is simply an "without-a-doubt-safe" threshold for healthy, normally hydrated people. If you consider the deaths from water intoxication involve several gallons (7+ liters), usually consumed in a very short period of time, you realize the magnitude of the shock to the system. The people have consumed more water than their kidneys can remove in 7 hours, and their bodies have to deal with the massive overload...for more than 7 hours.
 * That's why editors are not supposed to do WP:OR - they might very well get it wrong.--Blaisorblade (talk) 00:05, 5 November 2011 (UTC)


 * On the other hand, a patient working through kidney stones will consume higher-than-normal amounts of water in an attempt to flush said stone(s) through their system. For example, I had four nickel-sized calcium-oxalate stones lithotripsied on Monday and have been consuming 1-2 liters of water hourly -- while awake obviously -- for the past two days. The headache has been getting worse and worse, and neither Tylenol nor Advil seemed to control it. So tonight I looked this up on Wiki and see that the headache is likely due to excessive water consumption. We'll see how cutting back in the AM helps. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.238.196.18 (talk) 04:24, 21 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Don't do that, at most use the information here to ask your doctor. See the Medical disclaimer.--95.117.90.251 (talk) 23:54, 4 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Also, take a look Wikipedia_talk:Medical_disclaimer#why_not_disclaimer_template_on_the_medical_articles.3F - we should maybe try to change the article to make self-medication impossible? I however don't see how.--Blaisorblade (talk) 00:04, 5 November 2011 (UTC)

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 &trade;[[Image:Radioactive.svg|18px|]] 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


 * Perhaps the lethal dose for infant's, men and women should be listed. As found on http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/jsp/common/ChemFull.jsp?MW=18.0148, it is 333gm/kg orally (TDLo) for infants, 42.86gm/kg orally (TDLo) for men, and 180gm/kg/28H rectally (LDLo) for women. Earthsound 20:29, 30 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Earthsound, if you're planning to use the above link as a citation in the article proper, then you should be aware that it only leads to a "page expired" message. Also, if we're going to supply info regarding the lethal water dosage for men, women, and children, then it should all be via the same administrative route--i.e., not an oral dose for men and children but a rectal dose for women--since otherwise you can be sure that some inattentive reader is going to get confused. Buck Mulligan 00:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The best URL I could find was:

http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus/ProxyServlet?objectHandle=DBMaint&actionHandle=default&nextPage=jsp/chemidlite/ResultScreen.jsp&TXTSUPERLISTID=007732185 Earthsound 04:35, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

1L/Hour for health adults with normal ADH levels. Stress from exercise increases ADH and reduces this limit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jared999 (talk • contribs) 19:25, 16 February 2009 (UTC)

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: technopilgrim 23:11, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * 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
 * 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. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.31.6.199 (talk) 19:18, 8 July 2006
 * 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)

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)
 * Your example is wrong - carbon monoxide is actually toxic, since it makes blood unable to carry oxygen by combining with hemoglobin and changing it; you're describing the situation of carbon dioxide.

The idea that one needs to consume one to two litres of water a day is a myth. It has no basis in science whatsoever, so that claim in this article should be removed, in my opinion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.13.16.139 (talk) 05:36, 11 August 2011 (UTC)
 * That's nonsense. Do we need to keep it on talk pages? Can we at the very least archive that away?--Blaisorblade (talk) 00:29, 5 November 2011 (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..." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.161.184.124 (talk) 21:28, 15 January 2007 (UTC).

Hold your wee contest
The text there is copyvio. I don't want to add the template, as it's HUGE, so I'll let someone fix it before adding it. - JNighthawk 04:15, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

ahh yes i heard of this hold your pee for a wii contest. but i dont think it will postable due to the fact that its a event and this article seems to be more for discribing water intoxicationMaverick423 22:16, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Mineral concentration
Water intoxication is a matter of electrolytic dilution. Water is not literally a toxin, it acts passively in that, in excess it will dilute the necessary minerals needed in the body. Theoretically if you added the necessary supplements (salt, magnesium, etc) to your water, you could drink much more that of distilled water without effect.

Conversely, salt (NaCl) is fatal in a high enough dose--and lower than you might think.

The point is that water is generally a benign substance, but consuming anything in gross excess is almost always a grievous error in judgment (i.e. massively stupid). 67.185.99.246 01:16, 20 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Water isn't that benign. Its the universal solvent.  Pure water will eat away at all metals.  Regardless though, I still think it is toxic.  As I said above, is carbon monoxide toxic?  It doesn't specifically hurt you, but it does bind your hemoglobin so O2 cannot.  You die from it.  According to the American Heritage Dictionary Toxic is defined as:
 * "1. Of, relating to, or caused by a toxin or other poison: a toxic condition; toxic hepatitis. 2. Capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means; poisonous: food preservatives that are toxic in concentrated amounts; a dump for toxic industrial wastes. See Synonyms at poisonous."


 * So, would you consider electrolytes "toxic" then since its their alteration which kills? Is something that paralyzes muscles toxic if the cause of death is an inablility to move the ribcage in order to breath?


 * Lastly, what doses of NaCl cause death? Healthy  kidneys can get easily get rid of any NaCl up to extremely high doses. Higher doses that you'd think.  Rjkd12 21:50, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Generous or narrow margin?
With the recent, high-profile fatality, I read this article. But I found a problem: “Physiology...” says that there are narrow margins, but “Prevention…” says that there is a very generous margin. What they seem to say (in isolation) seems correct to someone not versed in medicine. But someone who knows this subject needs to examine this apparent contradiction. Val42 18:32, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Pure H2O Experiment
Ok i heard a long time ago that Scientest were testing if pure H2O (just hydrogen and oxygen atoms combined nothing else) is good for the body. the results were shocking that it had the exact opposite effect of water with all the dirt and stuff that we place in it. it instead robbed the subject of essental nutrients and stuff and merged with the pure H2O in the blood stream. the person testing had to be taken to the hospital and everything ( an experiment gone wrong) anyways will this also fall under water intoxication or is this another kind of situation?? also how is it possable to purify water like that *if its possable*? Maverick423 15:01, 31 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, first off, don't add it to the article if you just heard it someplace and don't have a citation for it. That aside, there doesn't seem to be any contradiction between the study you heard about and what the article itself already says about extremely high water intake. The point in either case is really that too much water and not enough salt creates a salt imbalance in the system, which can kill you if the imbalance is dramatic enough. Think of salt-water poisoning, but in reverse (as I believe the article itself states). Again, the point isn't so much about water per se, as it is about what effect a dramatic alteration of salt levels has on the human body. Since we're mostly water to begin with, drinking a ton of water is going to have an effect on these things.


 * As far as purification goes, I have no idea whether it's possible to purify water so totally. If this experiment you heard about actually took place, then whoever was carrying it out probably just synthesized some. But really, just drinking pure water is a bit beside the point--for the reasons I mentioned above, i.e., that this whole water intoxication business is a bit of a misnomer, since the issue is really all about salt (the "dirt and stuff" you mention is usually just naturally-occuring minerals, some of which, such as potassium, are salts). The subject in the supposed experiment must have drunk an awful lot of that pure water for anything bad to have happened. Poor guy! Buck Mulligan 19:00, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

yes apperantly *i guess rumors* state that it happened over the course of a month and drinking regularly instead of all at once. the other rumor states that it happened instantly as soon as the water was swallowed. (i asked around my office and the school next to it) Now i dont know if this is all because of this recent contest that killed that girl but apperantly people are starting to talk about this experiment again Maverick423 21:25, 31 January 2007 (UTC)


 * It has long been speculated that drinking extremely pure (i.e. distilled and de-ionized water) might leach essential nutrients from the body even faster than regular water, perhaps even to the extent that it might cause health problems. I stumbled across a WHO study on the web the other day but I can't find it again.  Personally I wouldn't drink the stuff even if it was healthy.  I remember a long time ago I tried drinking distilled water thinking it would be better but the stuff tasted extremely nasty.  --Lee Vonce 21:51, 31 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Check out the page on dionized water. I commented on how DI water is perfectly safe to drink.
 * Also, salt water isn't bad because you get too much salt from it. Its bad because it leeches water from your body via osmosis and that is how it dehydrates you.  Rjkd12 04:35, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

@Lee: I doubt that anyone not having a disease that affects the sense of taste would find distilled water "nasty". Distilled water is usually described as tasting "flat", since it contains no dissolved minerals to give it flavor. It is far more likely that the water was contaminated. Most distilled water is sold in containers made of polyethylene or other plastics. Almost all common plastics decompose (depolymerize) with time (speeded by Ultraviolet light and/or heat) into a variety of gases or volatile, oily liquids that are possibly poisonous, and definitely bitter, such as ethylene, styrene and benzine.

Very pure water
Is it a myth that drinking very pure or distilled water results in similar sickness? Supposedly pure water has no minerals, and so absorbs beneficial minerals from your body. I suspect that water poisoning occurs with any type of water, and this is a myth. — Omegatron 06:14, 3 January 2008 (UTC)


 * As is made clear above and in the article, even hypothetical "pure" water (which is impossible to make in practice) would be no more harmful than municipal-purified water, spring water, or any other form of potable water. David Spector 22:12, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

MIT case
I remember hearing about an MIT student who had died from water intoxication. The student was male, and it was either spring of 2006 or 2007, but I can't remember any farther details. Is anyone more familiar with this? --Deana —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.22.223.212 (talk) 06:15, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

ANOTHER INCIDENT
I remember years ago (the 1980's perhaps), reading about someone who had a terrible toothache that was soothed only by taking a gulp of water into their mouth and swirling it around the tooth. The person did this all night long and ended up dying of water intoxication. It was the first I'd heard of water intoxication. At the time, I had just gone through exactly the same thing. The only difference was that I spit the water out because I didn't want my stomach to get all bloated with water and I didn't want to end up having to go to the bathroom every five minutes. I had an emergency root canal the next morning. 68.116.40.228 (talk) 15:47, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Is table/sea salt needed on food to avoid water intoxication?
Would it be dangerous for a vegan, who eats a lot of fruits and vegetables (with high potassium/low sodium ratio) to avoid adding any salt whatsoever at any meal?

Also when should an athlete consider using sports drink, or water with salt, instead of plain water? (When training sessions are above 1-2 hours?)
 * It does not depend some much on duration as it does on amount of fluids lost which vary depending on humidity and personal factors. Many sports drink do not have enough electrolytes.

Do athletes who eat moderate to large amounts of salt during the day perform better? Yes, eating salty food helps.


 * These seem like questions about the subject, not about the article. As such, they should be asked at Reference desk/Science. David Spector 22:19, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

In Iatrogenic examples: A nasogastric tube isn't an example of intravenous hydration.
I'm thinking that may need to be tweaked. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.100.253.220 (talk) 12:09, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Psychological effects of water intoxication
The article does not state what the psychological effects of water intoxication are. That is, why is it called "intoxication" rather than simply "poisoning"? Is there any euphoria? The linked BBC News story mentions only "confusion". --72.70.21.220 (talk) 13:48, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Confusion abounds :) "Intoxication" and "poisoning" are synonyms, despite the former having become somewhat of a euphemism for being under the (psychological) influence of alcohol. 193.190.253.144 (talk) 13:19, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Numbers In The Article
I see this has been much discussed in here - how MUCH water leads to intoxication. I would just like to plead that you add some numbers to the article itself - cos, as many have stated, it LOOKS frightening at first look. Ive read most of the talk page, and I'm not frightened anymore, and I understand that giving out precise numbers is difficult, since it depends on age, size, weight, etc, yet numbers - how many litres min for intoxication fx - COULD be added to the article, if followed by information, that these numbers cannot be said to apply to everybody. But just a few numbers to make sure ordinary people aren't scared by this article, cos I sure was! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.107.24.213 (talk) 15:16, 8 January 2009 (UTC) Hey Doctors! How much is too much? The beginnings says 10 liters, the cases in the end says even 4 liters caused to death! Alpsinan. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alpsinan (talk • contribs) 00:54, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

Drastic?
"but the radio show and its staff were terminated." - consequence of causing Jennifer Strange death rather dire for the staff!

IceDragon64 (talk) 20:36, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

Fraternity Subheading
This section is a case of vandalism. No citation. No neutrality. It has comments in it completely unrelated to the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.250.144.45 (talk) 16:13, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Same person?
In the 'Notable Cases' the reference to Leah Betts (2nd down)and Anna Woods (Last) appear ro be the same person... Or the stories very, very similar. The wording in the two is almost exactly the same in the first paragraph. Kristof Wing (talk) 13:20, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

Minor edit re: Jennifer Strange
Added a bit of extra information about the lawsuit filed in the death of Jennifer Strange, as the case was settled today. Referenced google's version of the AP article. Mr.aluminumsiding (talk) 04:55, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

Remove most examples
IMHO, not every person who dies from a given condition should be mentioned in an encyclopaedia. Also, all examples as of this writing are from the US, which (etc.). Please comment on the general idea; I'd maybe leave some of the links. elpincha (talk) 04:00, 4 November 2009 (UTC)


 * While I agree, I think the "rare" nature of this condition justifies the said persons. Can we limit it to cases where it was widely reported in the media? 64.134.18.24 (talk) 01:39, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
 * I am not happy about the list of people and many other things in this article. It seems to confuse hyponatraemia with too drinking too much water. Snowman (talk) 16:57, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

I like the article and all of its examples. The examples help to make the subject more concrete. The description of the mechanism of death seems to be missing something, though. David Spector 22:22, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Needs section on differential diagnosis, lab tests workup
Needs section on differential diagnosis, lab tests workup
 * Ocdnctx (talk) 03:00, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Water intoxication, hyponatremia, body water, etc
The work of user:Yobol on improvement of the article structure is greatly appreciated; this article needs expert's attention badly. tHowever Yobol's deletion of some text not directly relevant to this article, have led, as I suspect, to loss of some encyclopedic information from wikipedia as a whole. I understand there is a confusion among laymen as to the terms, "overhydration", "water poisoning", "hyponatremia", etc. All the more, wikipedia editors who are aware of this must edit articles in the way which clarifies this distinction, rather than simply erases the confused parts.

I have absolutely zero knowledge on the subject, therefore I fixed only one issue in my recent edits, namely, I made the usage of the three terms clear. I would like to ask you to find proper place somewhere in wikipedia for other pieces removed by Yobol as irrelevant to the article, but which I think are useful (and referenced) albeit misplaced pieces of knowledge.

From a broader view, I would suggest you all to reconsider the whole category of articles related to body water in order to fill the gaps, remove overlaps, clarify confusion, restructure in a systematic way, etc. In other words, I would suggest to start a miniWikiProject:BodyWater, a "Body Water Task Force", or something, to handle the issue systematically. Last Lost (talk) 18:22, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

 Experts? Anybody home? Whatever... I started a ridiculously missing "Animal body water" page, as well as Category:Body water. I don't think I can contribute anything else on the subject. Bye. Last Lost (talk) 05:07, 7 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Most of the material I removed is already covered in appropriate articles elsewhere. What material did you have specifically in mind that needs to be returned? Yobol (talk) 20:30, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

There really needs to be more proof. Right now I find the article somewhat odd altogether. Dehydration, sure, but excess water killing people? I never heard about this before. I am very sceptical as to that. 194.166.100.6 (talk) 02:02, 29 January 2012 (UTC)


 * That is why people come to Wikipedia, to learn. In fact more people die of overhydration than from dehydration. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.196.48.248 (talk) 07:43, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

Savannah Hardin's death
Don't you people think we should add Savannah Hardin's death to the Notable Cases list? 11:29, 1 March 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.195.166.83 (talk)

Savannah's exact cause of death according to her death certificate is a "seizure disorder due to hyponatremia." taken from: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/17233949/forensic-pathologist-reviews-savannah-hardin-death-certificate — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.196.50.94 (talk) 15:12, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Claire Squires may also have died of hyponatremia after almost finishing the London marathon.
 * The point is : what is the diference between Water intoxication, and Hyponatremia? The first "disease" is just a kind of the second one.La souris la plus rapide (talk) 07:57, 14 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Overhydration (water intoxication) is one of the causes of Hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is the condition. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.196.50.94 (talk) 11:23, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

Incorrect Citation Since 2009
The current version of this article states that: "Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet huge amounts of fluid are still consumed." This is a logical disjunction, meaning it is a necessarily true statement even if half of it is completely false. The statement was given a citation in 2009 by user 87.202.33.203, but the citation seems to only support the first half of the disjunction- that overhydration/water intoxication/hyponatremia results from excess fluid consumption. The claim that this condition can occur from failure to "replenish" electrolytes remains unsupported by this citation. I surveyed the literature available on what causes this condition, and found numerous studies indicating that excess fluid intake, regardless of electrolyte composition of those fluids, can cause hyponatremia (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa043901) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11399389) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12544163). The citation currently in the article also does not support the inclusion of "long bouts of intensive exercise." In fact, the evidence from virtually all studies of hyponatremia suggests slower runners are at greater risk, meaning intensity of exercise is negatively correlated with developing hyponatremia.

Unless anyone disagrees, I suggest we edit this line to read as follows: "Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication have resulted either from water drinking contests in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or from long bouts of exercise during which excessive amounts of fluid were consumed."

Theonetex3 (talk) 2:46, 30 September 2014 (UTC))

Distinguish from hydrocephalus
How exactly is hydrocephalus worth a hatnote? Is hydrocephalus often caused by water intoxication? Otherwise, I don't think these things are sufficiently confusable.

( The hydrocephalus article has a complementary hatnote pointing to this article, as I previously tried to discuss at Talk:Hydrocephalus.) --SoledadKabocha (talk) 00:10, 17 November 2014 (UTC) (+ 15:26, 21 November 2014 (UTC))

No section on symptoms?
It seems like an odd omission. It would help to describe what kinds of headaches can come from water intoxication and how they differ from headaches due to, for example, dehydration. (Since if you have one or the other of the two, it's important to know which one! and it's not always obvious for athletes, people with polydypsia, people with diabetes insipidus, etc.) 108.56.154.33 (talk) 02:08, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

Recent cases of water intoxication
2005  District Officer Dies After Bike Ride Over-Hydration.James C. McBride may have drunk as much as 3 gallons of water. 2007. A 28-year-old woman was found dead hours after taking part in a radio station's water-drinking contest. According to the Sacramento County Coroner she died of water intoxication. Assistant Sacramento County Coroner Ed Smith said there was evidence of hyponatremia. Jennifer Strange took part in a contest at radio station KDND-FM (107.9) in which participants competed to see how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom in order to win a Wii. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.152.130.193 (talk) 20:26, 3 June 2016 (UTC) P. Russell

Prevent hyponatremia
It may be possible to prevent this condition by using ORS if consuming large quantities of water. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Smitt99 (talk • contribs) 20:34, 3 June 2016 (UTC)

Prevention - Source for the 0.8l-1.0l per hour statement is nonscientific.
The only source given for the information in the Prevention section is an article in the scientific american, a pop-sci magazine The article quotes Prof MD Joseph G. Verbalis from Georgetown University, so could be viewed as an appropriate source, but there's no link to any scientific publication at all. That information he gave has to come from somewhere, so that source should be linked preferably. (source 12, direct link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/ )

There's a publication by that Dr. Verbalis et al from 2007, 'Hyponatremia treatment guidelines 2007: expert panel recommendations' (link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17981159) which seems to mention the 0.8-1.0 l/h amount. As it's behind a paywall it can't be used as a primary source unfortunatelly.

The abovementioned guidelines publication references this publication: Noakes TD, Wilson G, Gray DA, Lambert MI, Dennis SL. Peak rates of diuresis in healthy humans during oral fluid overload. S Afr Med J. 2001;91:852–857.)(link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11732457) Which is behind a paywall again.

This publication on 'Hyponatremia caused by excessive intake of water as a form of child abuse' (link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027093/) mentions the same information in the 4th paragraph of the discussion section, referencing the abovementioned publication by Verbalis et al., and importantly, doesn't seem to be behind a paywall.

All in all, I'd recommend to put a non-paywalled, scientific source as the main source for the Prevention section of the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 37.201.146.46 (talk) 11:37, 26 June 2017 (UTC)

DHMO
See? Dihydrogen monoxide can be dangerous. &#91;&#91;User:Rickyrab2&#124;Rickyrab (2nd account)!&#93;&#93; &#124; &#91;&#91;Talk:Rickyrab2&#124; yada yada yada&#93;&#93; (old page: &#91;&#91;User:Rickyrab&#93;&#93;) (talk) 19:50, 19 December 2021 (UTC)

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.


 * That certainly WAS medical advice. And an 84 year old will have 84 year old kidneys. ALWAYS ASK THE DOCTOR, not a chorus of Wikipedia magpies. Truth. Wordreader (talk) 21:36, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

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)
 * @Tyciol - You wrote - "...I happen to think the kidney will adapt."
 * And just how do you think that happens? The kidneys are like every other organ in your body. Filtration in the kidney is a delicate thing. Age, infection, injury all does damage whereby kidneys are unable to function like they used to pre-insult.
 * And just like damaged lungs, heart, and brain, they do not have the ability to repair themselves. Kidney damage is permanent and can lead to hypertension which can lead to heart disease; neurological damage of the organs, extremities, and the eyes; or a whopper of a stroke. You do not need to be elderly for any of those things to happen, either!
 * So, no - the kidneys cannot adapt to whatever strain you want to place on them. How can you post such a thing? Wordreader (talk) 21:54, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

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

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. ~  PH  DrillSergeant ... §  18:50, 14 January 2007 (UTC)


 * PEOPLE - Stop giving medical advice. This page is about the article, it is not an advice column and definitely NOT a MEDICAL advice column. There are big liability and ethical issues here for Wikipedia and maybe you. Such writers should be directed to their medical professional. Stop it! Wordreader (talk) 22:05, 10 June 2023 (UTC)