What is water intoxication?

What is Over-Hydration and What is Water Intoxication?

Over-hydration is an excess of water in the body. Excessive intake of fluids, or severe over-hydration, is known as water intoxication. Excessive water loss is known as dehydration.


How Does Over-Hydration Occur?

When the body takes in more water than it can loose, over-hydration occurs. The body has too much water and not enough sodium. Sodium is an electrolyte. A decrease in sodium concentrations can cause an electrolyte imbalance. When this occurs, osmotic pressure decreases, and intracellular water concentration increases. Low levels of sodium produces a condition called hyponatremia.

Drinking too much fluids does not usually lead to over-hydration. The risk of over-hydration occurs more typically in individuals who have been sweating profusely from several hours or days of exertion, as in a marathon or, in individuals with disorders of the pituitary gland, heart, liver, or kidneys where the kidneys do not excrete urine normally. Because significant sodium loss can also occur with vomiting or diarrhea, there is an increased risk of over-hydration with rapid fluid intake. It is possible to drink too much fluid and induce over-hydration by exceeding the body’s ability to excrete water. However, this would require an individual to consistently drink more than two gallons of water on a daily basis.

When coupled with low or inadequate sodium intake in the diet, these conditions can rapidly produce a sodium deficit. This is known as over-hydration.



What Are the Symptoms?

Over-hydration is disruptive to nerve cell function and can produce symptoms of lightheadedness or mild vertigo.
Because brain cells are susceptible
to fluid imbalances, over-hydration and water intoxication can produce neurological symptoms such as altered personality, and disoriented behavior. Water intoxication can also result in convulsions, circulatory shock, coma,
and death.
Immediate medical attention is required when symptoms of over-hydration or water intoxication occur. To avoid complications, fluid intake (which is usually restricted and very slowly re-administered over many hours) should be very carefully monitored by a healthcare professional.


Can I Avoid Over-Hydration?

Yes. Over-Hydration and water intoxication can be avoided with careful monitoring of fluid intake when perspiring heavily, or when ill with diarrhea or vomiting.
Under these conditions, drinking
plain water will not restore sodium loss
nor will it adequately re-hydrate the body. Adding a little bit of salt to water, to fruit juice, or vegetable juice can help the body to restore the lost sodium. Because they contain sodium, many sport drinks can help to quickly restore sodium loss.
Consultation with a health care professional can help athletes in heavy training, and individuals who are ill, to obtain adequate fluid intake and to avoid the risk of over-hydration.

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