Water Toxicity

Medical Topic of the day:
Today's Topic:  Remember when that one lady died during that radio station dare in which you had to consume the most water to win tickets to some concert?  Did you know that drinking too much water can kill you?  Let's see how.

Off the top of my head:  I am not exactly sure how it works.  I know it is possible to consume more water than your body can get rid of.  Besides diluting your blood stream and reducing bio-availability of essential components like sodium I am not sure what else it would do.  Maybe it makes your brain swell.

My research today:  Haha.  Maybe I didn't need to do any research for this because that is exactly what water intoxication causes.  The technical term for low levels of sodium in the blood stream is hyponatremia.  So how does hyponatremia kill you?

Well sodium and other electrolytes are responsible for almost all cellular interaction and functions of your body.  The excess water dilutes the sodium in your blood stream and your cells transfer the fluid through osmosis to balance the sodium and electrolyte concentration.  The extra fluid makes your cells swell and this causes all sorts of problems.

These problems include but are not limited to muscle weakness, spasms, cramping, nausea, confusion, irritability, and bradycardia.  Ultimately increasing swelling will cause intracranial pressure to size and your brain will swell herniating your brain stem causing death.

Not surprisingly water is one of the least toxic compounds your body can consume. In fact your body is made of 90% of it. You have to drink a lot to kill you. How much? Well it depends on a lot of stuff everything from individual physiology to conditions which may compound water absorption into your cells like heat stress.

Remember your kidneys can only process approximately 1 liter of fluid an hour. If you drink less than that you should be fine in most cases.

Quest to 180:
Current Weight:  Not weighing myself
Activity Today:  40 minutes in the pool.
Diet today:  Meh.

Comments: Feeling tired today.  Going to try to fix that.

The MAN:
Confidence Level:  Meh
Social Engineering Tactics:  Confidence
Comments:  Workin on it.


Random:
Listening to:  Nothing today
Watching:  Secret stuff.
Reading:  Didn't read today.....yet.

Something fun:  Phys.org - Science!

Spinach contains only trace amounts of iron.  The myth that spinach contains high amounts of iron states back to a typo in the United States Department of Agriculture's report on mineral content in vegetables.

Questions or comments can be submitted to dudaday@gmail.com

Disclaimer:  I am not a health care provider, any information presented in this blog should not be considered advice, it is mealy an outlet to slake my curiosity.  You should always consult your primary medical provider for any concerns or illness.  Unlike Tylenol, I am not approved by the FDA or American Medical Association to treat or provide relief for any ailment.