“severe dehydration may lead to confusion, coma or death.” this is an example of

Every cell in the body needs water to function correctly. However, drinking too much can lead to water intoxication and serious health consequences.

It is difficult to drink too much water by accident, but it can happen, usually as a result of overhydrating during sporting events or intense training.

The symptoms of water intoxication are general — they can include confusion, disorientation, nausea, and vomiting.

In rare cases, water intoxication can cause swelling in the brain and become fatal.

This article describes the symptoms, causes, and effects of water intoxication. It also looks into how much water a person should drink each day.

severe dehydration may lead to confusion, coma or death.” this is an example of

Share on PinterestA person may experience water intoxication if they drink too much water.

Also known as water poisoning, water intoxication is a disruption of brain function caused by drinking too much water.

Doing so increases the amount of water in the blood. This can dilute the electrolytes, especially sodium, in the blood.

If sodium levels fall below 135 millimoles per liter (mmol/l), doctors refer to the issue as hyponatremia.

Sodium helps maintain the balance of fluids inside and outside of cells. When sodium levels drop due to excessive water consumption, fluids travel from the outside to the inside of cells, causing them to swell.

When this happens to brain cells, it can be dangerous and even life threatening.

Bottom line: Water intoxication results from drinking too much water. The excess water dilutes sodium in the blood and causes fluids to move inside cells, causing them to swell.

When a person consumes an excessive amount of water and cells in their brain start to swell, the pressure inside their skull increases. This causes the first symptoms of water intoxication, which include:

Severe cases of water intoxication can produce more serious symptoms, such as:

A buildup of fluid in the brain is called cerebral edema. This can affect the brain stem and cause central nervous system dysfunction.

In severe cases, water intoxication can cause seizures, brain damage, a coma, and even death.

Bottom line: Drinking too much water can increase the pressure inside the skull. This can cause various symptoms and, in severe cases, become fatal.

Water intoxication is rare, and it is very difficult to consume too much water by accident. However, it can happen — there have been numerous medical reports of death due to excessive water intake.

Water intoxication most commonly affects people participating in sporting events or endurance training, or people who have various mental health conditions.

Sporting events

Water intoxication is particularly common among endurance athletes. It can happen if a person drinks a lot of water without correctly accounting for electrolyte losses.

For this reason, hyponatremia often occurs during major sporting events.

As the authors of one study report, out of 488 participants in the 2002 Boston Marathon, 13% had hyponatremia symptoms, and 0.06% had critical hyponatremia, with sodium levels of less than 120 mmol/l.

Instances of water intoxication at these events have resulted in death. One case involved a runner who had collapsed after a marathon.

Because he was improperly rehydrated, his sodium levels fell below 130 mmol/l. The runner then developed water on the brain, known as hydrocephalus, and a hernia in his brain stem, which caused his death.

Military training

One medical report described 17 soldiers who developed hyponatremia after drinking too much water during training. Their blood sodium levels were 115–130 mmol/l, while the normal range is 135–145 mmol/l.

According to another report, three soldiers died due to hyponatremia and cerebral edema. These deaths were associated with drinking more than 5 liters of water in just a few hours.

The symptoms of hyponatremia can be misinterpreted as those of dehydration. According to one report, a soldier who received an incorrect diagnosis of dehydration and heat stroke died from water intoxication as a result of rehydration efforts.

Mental health conditions

Compulsive water drinking, also called psychogenic polydipsia, can be a symptom of various mental health conditions.

It is most common among people with schizophrenia, but it can also arise in people with affective disorders, psychosis, and personality disorders.

Bottom line: Water intoxication can be life threatening, and it is most common among soldiers in training, endurance athletes, and people with schizophrenia.

It is difficult to consume too much water by accident. However, it can happen, and there have been numerous reports of death due to excess water intake.

People at risk of death from water intoxication tend to be participating in endurance sporting events or military training. A person who is doing neither is unlikely to die from drinking too much water.

Overhydration and water intoxication happen when a person drinks more water than their kidneys can get rid of via urine.

The amount of water is not the only factor — time also plays a role.

According to figures quoted in a 2013 study, the kidneys can eliminate about 20–28 liters of water a day, but they can remove no more than 0.8 to 1.0 liters every hour.

To avoid hyponatremia, it is important not to outpace the kidneys by drinking more water than they can eliminate.

The authors of the study report that hyponatremia symptoms can develop if a person drinks 3–4 liters of water in a short period, though they do not give a specific time estimate.

According to one case report, soldiers developed symptoms after consuming at least 2 quarts (1.9 liters) of water per hour.

Another report describes the development of hyponatremia after drinking more than 5 liters in a few hours.

Water intoxication and prolonged hyponatremia also occurred in an otherwise healthy 22-year-old prisoner who drank 6 liters of water in 3 hours.

Finally, according to one report, a 9-year-old girl developed water intoxication after consuming 3.6 liters of water in 1–2 hours.

Bottom line: The kidneys can remove 20–28 liters of water per day, but they cannot excrete more than 0.8 to 1.0 liters per hour. Drinking more than this can be harmful.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are no official guidelines about how much water a person needs to drink each day.

The right amount differs, depending on factors such as body weight, level of physical activity, the climate, and whether they are breastfeeding.

In 2004, The National Academy of Medicine recommended that women aged 19–30 consume around 2.7 liters per day and men of the same age around 3.7 liters per day.

Some people still follow the 8×8 rule, which recommends drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. However, this was not based on research.

Relying on thirst may not work for everyone. Athletes, older adults, and pregnant women, for example, may need to drink more water each day.

To estimate the right amount, it can help to consider calories. If a person needs 2,000 calories per day, they should also consume 2,000 milliliters of water per day.

Read more about daily water intake recommendations here.

Drinking too much water can lead to water intoxication. This is rare and tends to develop among endurance athletes and soldiers.

There are no official guidelines about how much water to drink. To avoid water intoxication, some sources recommend drinking no more than 0.8 to 1.0 liters of water per hour.

Dehydration is a deficiency of water in the body.

  • Vomiting, diarrhea, excessive sweating, burns, kidney failure, and use of diuretics may cause dehydration.

  • People feel thirsty, and as dehydration worsens, they may sweat less and excrete less urine.

  • If dehydration is severe, people may be confused or feel light-headed.

  • Treatment is restoring lost water and mineral salts (such as sodium and potassium) that are dissolved in the blood (electrolytes), usually by drinking but sometimes with intravenous fluids.

Dehydration occurs when the body loses more water than it takes in. Vomiting Nausea and Vomiting in Adults Nausea is an unpleasant feeling of needing to vomit. People also may feel dizziness, vague discomfort in the abdomen, and an unwillingness to eat. Vomiting is a forceful contraction of the stomach... read more , diarrhea Diarrhea in Adults Diarrhea is an increase in the volume, wateriness, or frequency of bowel movements. (See also Diarrhea in Children.) The frequency of bowel movements alone is not the defining feature of diarrhea... read more , the use of drugs that increase urine excretion (diuretics), profuse sweating (for example, during heat waves, particularly with prolonged exertion), and decreased water intake can lead to dehydration.

Symptoms of mild to moderate dehydration include

In severe dehydration, the sensation of thirst may actually decrease and blood pressure can fall, causing light-headedness or fainting, particularly upon standing (a condition called orthostatic hypotension Dizziness or Light-Headedness When Standing Up In some people, particularly older people, blood pressure drops excessively when they sit or stand up (a condition called orthostatic or postural hypotension). Symptoms of faintness, light-headedness... read more ). If dehydration continues, shock Shock Shock is a life-threatening condition in which blood flow to the organs is low, decreasing delivery of oxygen and thus causing organ damage and sometimes death. Blood pressure is usually low... read more and severe damage to internal organs, such as the kidneys, liver, and brain, occur. Brain cells are particularly susceptible to more severe levels of dehydration. Consequently, confusion is one of the best indicators that dehydration has become severe. Very severe dehydration can lead to coma and death.

Dehydration can often be diagnosed from symptoms and the results of a doctor's examination. But sometimes doctors do blood tests for people who appear seriously ill or who take certain drugs or have certain disorders. For people who require more monitoring or testing in an emergency department or intensive care unit, doctors sometimes use ultrasound or special catheters to measure the severity of dehydration.

Dehydration normally causes the sodium level in the blood to increase. The reason is that although the common causes of dehydration (such as profuse sweating Excessive Sweating People with excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) sweat profusely, and some sweat almost constantly. Excessive sweating usually has no clear cause but is sometimes caused by infections, metabolic... read more , vomiting Nausea and Vomiting in Adults Nausea is an unpleasant feeling of needing to vomit. People also may feel dizziness, vague discomfort in the abdomen, and an unwillingness to eat. Vomiting is a forceful contraction of the stomach... read more , and diarrhea Diarrhea in Adults Diarrhea is an increase in the volume, wateriness, or frequency of bowel movements. (See also Diarrhea in Children.) The frequency of bowel movements alone is not the defining feature of diarrhea... read more ) result in a loss of electrolytes Overview of Electrolytes Well over half of the body's weight is made up of water. Doctors think about the body's water as being restricted to various spaces, called fluid compartments. The three main compartments are... read more (especially sodium and potassium), even more water is lost, so sodium becomes more concentrated in the blood.

Prevention of dehydration is better than cure. Adults should drink at least 6 glasses of fluids daily (including fluid from eating foods high in water content, such as fruits and vegetables). Fluid intake should be increased on hot days, when working or exercising in hot weather, during or after prolonged exercise, and, if possible, when people have vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Exercise, a high body temperature, and hot weather increase the body’s need for water. Flavored sports drinks have been formulated to replace electrolytes lost during vigorous exercise. These drinks can be used to prevent dehydration. People should drink fluids with electrolytes before and during vigorous exercise as well as afterward. Before exercising, people with heart or kidney disorders should consult their doctors about how to safely replace fluids.

People should make sure that older family members have access to plenty of water when they are alone in a hot building or place.

  • Replacing fluids and electrolytes

For treating mild dehydration, drinking plenty of water may be all that is needed. With moderate and severe dehydration, lost electrolytes (especially sodium and potassium) must also be replaced.

People who are vomiting may not be able to hold down enough fluid to treat dehydration. More severe dehydration requires treatment by doctors with intravenous solutions containing sodium chloride (salt). The intravenous solution is given rapidly at first and then more slowly as the physical condition improves.

Which type of speech is intended to influence the attitudes beliefs and behaviors of an audience?

Persuasive speeches “intend to influence the beliefs, attitudes, values, and acts of others.” Unlike an informative speech, where the speaker is charged with making some information known to an audience, in a persuasive speech the speaker attempts to influence people to think or behave in a particular way.

Is like persuasion uses deceptive or harmful methods to propel The intended changes?

Like persuasion, coercion is a process whereby thoughts or behaviors are altered. But in coercive acts, deceptive or harmful methods propel the intended changes, not reason.

Which of the following are associated with persuasion?

Traditionally, persuasion involves ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). By performing these three elements competently, a speaker can enhance their persuasive power.

What is a potential danger of telling a personal story?

According to the author, what is a potential danger of telling a personal story? it may take too long and distract from the point of the speech.