What are the negative effects of drinking too much water?

1. 83

   eddiecarraraposted 12 years ago

   What are the negative effects of drinking too much water?
   
   The rule is to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated and flush out toxins.  What if your body doesn't need it and you overdose on water, what could be some of the negative effects it could have on your body?

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2. 83

   Joelipooposted 12 years ago

   I don't believe you will overdose on water. I believe your body will take what it needs and simply discard the rest. I don't think it would hurt to drink a lot of water.

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3. 60

   abgiz86posted 12 years ago

   As far as I know there is no negative effects for drinking to much water, drink too much water and you will kind of automatically need to pee. And that pretty much it.

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4. 56

   jhunpalerposted 12 years ago

   water is beneficial to our body, because its molecules are involved in many reactions in the body. Drinking too much water will have a side effect when you have chronic kidney disease and your on dialysis or if have any cardiac problem leading to congestive heart failure like your cardiomyopathies. In these disease entities, you have to limit your water intake and not drink a lot, if not maintain, one could go into congestion because water will fill up the lungs. But generally, water is health

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5. 73

   Max Daltonposted 12 years ago

   Actually, you hear about once every couple of years about someone (typically in a feat or sorority as part of hazing) who does from being forced to drink too much water. But, I don't think someone voluntarily drinking the water would have a problem.

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6. 59

   ThatYossarianposted 12 years ago

   Drinking too much water can have negative effects on health in some circumstances. Most commonly, it can lead to a condition known as water intoxication. Water intoxication, or water poisoning, occurs when so much water is consumed that the normal levels of electrolytes (e.g. sodium, potassium, calcium) become extremely diluted.
   
   Electrolyte concentration in the body is important for a number of reasons, most importantly for the nervous system in neurotransmission, and for muscles to contract. It's the passage of electrolytes into and out of cells that allows for these processes to take place, and maintaining normal levels of electrolytes is critical. Therefore, when electrolytes become diluted, physiological functions are disrupted and a person can begin to show signs of water poisoning (vomiting, headache, confusion, weakness, fatigue, appetite loss).

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7. 83

   eddiecarraraposted 12 years ago

   Congratulations ThatYossarian, that was the answer I was looking for, I actually saw a reenactment of it on "A Thousand Ways to Die".  A woman was in a contest at a radio station, who ever drank the most water without going to the restroom would win tickets to a concert.  She drank so much water she fell victim to water intoxication and died, very weird! Thanks for explaining it in so much detail, very well written and easy to digest, no pun intended 

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8. 60

   Mac31posted 12 years ago

   For one your blood pressure will go up if you overdose on water.  There was a lady that actually died doing a contest to see who could drink the most water in a certain amount of time.  Cause of death water overdose.

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9. 72

   fitmomposted 12 years ago

   ThatYossarian answered the question well. Another thing to consider in general is the quality of the water that's being consumed.
   
   People who drink out of plastic water bottles think they are being healthy by drinking water. What they don't realize is that the chemicals in the plastic get into the water and cause health problems. It is better to buy a quality, reusable water bottle that is BPA free and put good water into it.
   
   In addition, the water should be filtered and free of chemicals. Even when it is filtered, it still has things in it that cannot be filtered out. The best water to drink has gone through reverse osmosis.

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10. 61

    rainnie526posted 12 years ago

    Water is essential to human bodies, but you cannot drink excessively. It is true that your body will discharge not only the redundant water, but also a lot of chemical elements like sodium, which can break the original balance in your body.

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11. 61

    Der Meisterposted 12 years ago

    The biggest negative effect it can have on you is death. Other than that, maybe cramps.

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12. 81

    bethperryposted 12 years ago

    There have been a case or two of people who have obsessed on the water drinking and actually drowned from a deluge of fluids in their tissues. The more frequent risk to over consumption of water is getting your electrolytes thrown off balance. This can lead to problems such as dizziness, compromised coordination and neurological snafus. Although these manifestations are in themselves temporary, limited to the time it takes the body to get rid of the excess fluid, continued over consumption of water will only prolong the problems.

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13. 97

    watergeekposted 11 years ago

    The potential problem with electrolyte imbalance can be prevented by adding a touch of sea salt to the water you drink (unless your house water is already softened, i.e. salted). The way to tell whether or not you need to drink more water is described in this hub: "How to Drink More Water: Health Benefits"
    http://watergeek.hubpages.com/hub/Good- … king-Water

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