Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning or hyperhydration, is perhaps not something you would normally consider to be a serious problem. Like how could something as innocent-looking as water, with so much health benefits intoxicate? Well, actually it does. Water intoxication is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by overhydration.

You must have heard people say that too much of everything isn't good, and that includes water. Under normal circumstances, accidentally consuming too much water is exceptionally rare. But In a hydration-obsessed culture, people can, and do drink themselves to death as a result of Water intoxication. It may sound funny but 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 (thanks to the friends they keep), or from long bouts of exercise during which excessive amounts of fluid were consumed. In addition, I heard drinking a lot of water when suffering from Urinary Tract Infection helps the 'healing process', but this also could lead to Water Intoxication.

Water is essential for Life Making up about 66 percent of the human body and it runs through the blood, inhabits the cells, and lurks in the spaces between the cells. But this water doesn't just remain stagnant. At every moment water escapes the body through sweat, urination, defecation or exhaled breath, among other routes. Replacing these lost stores is essential for maintaining balance but re-hydration can be overdone.
Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. Sodium is an electrolyte, and it helps regulate the amount of water that's in and around your cells." Quantitatively speaking, it means having a blood sodium concentration below 135 millimoles per litre the normal concentration lying somewhere between 135 and 145 millimoles per litre. Severe cases of hyponatremia can lead to water intoxication, an illness whose symptoms include a headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, frequent urination and mental disorientation.

Water Intoxication Causes

According to Scientificamerican, the kidneys control the amount of water, salts and other solutes leaving the body by sieving blood through their millions of twisted tubules. When a person drinks too much water in a short period of time, the kidneys cannot flush it out fast enough and the blood becomes waterlogged. Excess water leaves the blood and is drawn to regions where the concentration of salt and other dissolved substances is higher, and ultimately enters the cells, which swell like balloons to accommodate it. Most cells have room to stretch because they are embedded in flexible tissues such as fat and muscle, but this is not the case for neurones. Brain cells are tightly packaged inside a rigid bony cage, the skull, and they have to share this space with blood and cerebrospinal fluid. The issue boils down to sodium levels. One of sodium’s jobs is to balance the fluids in and around your cells. Drinking too much water causes an imbalance, and the liquid moves from your blood to inside your cells, making them swell. Swelling inside the brain is serious and requires immediate treatment.

Sometimes babies can have issues. Their bodies are so tiny that they can't handle lots of water. That's why doctors say infants should drink only milk or formula.
Water Intoxication is more likely to occur in: Infants because of their low body mass, Marathon runners are susceptible to water intoxication if they drink too much while running and in people who perform activities that promote heavy sweating which can also lead to water intoxication when water is consumed to replace lost fluids..

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Too much water sef dey kill, na wa o