[MedicineMan]

Yep, I said don't drink too much water.

Why???

Hyponatremia.

Links....

(simple) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/salt.html

(technical)http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000394.htm

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic275.htm

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/aa070703a.htm

Water is great. But you'll DIE if it's all you drink.
The condition is called HYPONATREMIA. "Water Drunkenness" is another common name.

Your body is a delicate balance of electrolytes. If that balance is upset, you get all manner of problems including Cardiac Dysrhythmias.

Dissolve a cup of salt in a 5 gallon bucket of water.
Measure the salinity level.
Poke a small hole in the side of the bucket.
As the level drops, replace with straight water.
Measure saline levels throughout experiment.
What would you notice???

Same thing happens to YOU.
Water is good, but if you are working or not eating regularly, you will hit a point where you are sweating as much as you are drinking with no relief.
This is due to a term known as TONIC. (hyper/hypo) and is an hour long lecture on cellular permiability of body fluids.

Short class.......
Your body is "FULL" of water and cannot retain what you're drinking due to low sodium and other electrolytes. The result is more sweating and the loss of more sodium and electrolytes through the sweat.
Then the problem just snowballs, worsening until the electrolytes are replenished. (Usually with 2 REALLY BIG NEEDLES and IV therapy)

Yes, Gatorade and the like do work. And it's important that you use these tools to protect yourself from heat injuries. And DEATH.

 

[scarcherpilot]

I just stored about 3 containers of Gatorade mix in mylar bags this weekend just for this reason.

 

[alergyfree]

Water

So what do you believe is too much water?
The majority of people today are severely dehydrated. Pop, juice, milk, tea are all diuretic in action. I believe we all need 1/2 our body weight in oz. of pure water in addition to what ever else we drink. Sure we get water in some foods but that is enough to process that food and little more. Yes its about balance but we need to be educated that coffee,pop etc are not good sources of hydration. Scaring people about drinking too much water when most don't drink enough may not be good. Please give it some thought.
Alergyfree

 

[speedofl33t]

I strongly doubt I need to drink 2 liters of water every day no matter of temp or physical activity. That's just bullcrap.

 

[Maurepas]

The type of hyponatremia the OP describes is euvolemic hyponatremia. Meaning, you don't have a sodium problem per se, you have a water volume increase which dilutes your otherwise normal sodium.

Though it can be fatal, it is pretty hard to achieve with an otherwise healthy adult. It's really not how much water you drink but how quickly you drink it. If you drink large volumes very quickly you can exceed you kidney's ability to filter and regulate your electrolytes. There was a recent case of a sorority girl getting hazed who was forced to drink gallons of water over a couple of hours and later died.

You can easily give someone this problem if you don't know what you are doing and start an IV on them with the wrong type of solution at a rapid rate and over hydrate them. A real danger for folks who have no training but all the medical supplies needed to run I.V.'s.

But as long as you are drinking periodically over time, healthy kidney's will make the adjustments needed to keep your sodium regulated. Oral electrolyte solutions during times of heavy exertion will certainly help. Certainly should be a part of your preps. Will shorten your recovery time. But it's not a death sentence if you do not have them.

It is, sadly, much more common to see infants and neonates with problems from hyponatremia related to water ingestion. Infants who are given water instead of formula can easily become hyponatremic. I've seen deaths occur as a result of parents diluting or substituting water for formula.

 

[alergyfree]

Hello
Ok, What makes you think that?
How much water do you drink?
Alergyfree

 

[Wolfe]

You only get that when you drink ways too much water and don't get enough salts. Water and salts (electrolytes is another word for salts) need to be balanced. If you eat too much salt you get thirsty, because than the balance swings towards too much salt (you probably heard of that). If you drink too much water it's the opposite effect.

In western countries, we consume ways too much salt. So it doesn't matter at all to drink some water, just don't be extreme and drink like 10 litre each day. The recommended 2 litres will never give you that (unless you really stop eating). If you double it, take 4 litres each day, but still have your normal food patern, you'll probably be safe too.

In conclusio. You won't get this, if you eat enough. It get's risky when you only drink water and don't eat (stuff with salt in it). So don't be scared of every cup of water you drink.

 

[Normann]

Agree with Wolfe!!! And dont think of water that its gona kill you or something, water and salt NOT table salt (contains non of the good stuff) but Sea Salt is really the MOST importat thing with healthy food and oxygen we humans can put into our machinery...check out this one_

http://www.watercure.com/index.html:thumb:

 

[timber runner]

this is all true if your drinking pure water, but most water when it comes out of the ground has minerals in it, mebe not as much as required, that is why you must also eat balanced meals.

 

[Cutter]

I strongly doubt I need to drink 2 liters of water every day no matter of temp or physical activity. That's just bullcrap.

Try Three liters of water a day due to high temp and physical activity. Over in the gulf when I was involved in 12 hour operation, it was not uncommon for me to go through my camelback (a 1 liter model) three times a day, plus drinking bottles of gatorade. You cant imagine the heat and the amount you sweat. I never knew I could sweat so much.

As far as dying off of just water -- yes, if you just sit there and do nothing except ingest water, you will get "drunk" and die.

However, in a survival situation, or even just day to day life, staying hydrated with nothing but water will not hurt you -- why? Because you are eating, and the food you are eating contains the salts necessary to sustain you. If you dont eat, and just drink pure water then you would have health problems and possibly death over a period of time.

Salt tablets are needed if there is not enough food and all you have to drink is water in survival situations. A decent diet and water will not hurt you.

 

[pftw-pftb]

I can easily go through 4l a day in the summer.

I drink Gatorade in the summer when I skip meals or its just to hot to eat.

 

[sebring440]

Water is great. But you'll DIE if it's all you drink.QUOTE]

It will not kill you if it's all you drink. People drank nothing but water until they learned how grow the things needed to make wine, beer, etc.

Water drunkeness is caused by drinking too much water. The body can only metabolise so much at a time. Not from drinking only water. Although having items like tea, coffee, etc.. are nice alternatives to have in your food stores for the variety.

 

[Wild Eyes]

Drink when you're thirsty: Problem solved.

 

[d3athp3nguin]

Drink when you're thirsty: Problem solved.

Seriously. Whatever happened to that old adage, "all things in moderation?"

 

[speedofl33t]

Try Three liters of water a day due to high temp and physical activity.

Kind of what I'm thinking. Under extreme circumstances you might need a lot of water. The hotter it is and the more active you are, the more water you lose (Unless you didn't grew up under those circimstances, those people seem to have a much smaller need for fluids). But if it's not warm, I don't have anything real physical to do, I really don't think I need 2 liters (plus all the other fluids I drink).

I think maybe it's good to know you shouldn't binge drink water to the extreme. Because some people have no common sense and think the more the better... Especially with the fad we have right now that tells us were all dehydrated. Eh, ever seen a person who is dehydrated for real?.... If we were all that dehydrated, I'd just think we would be thirsty, yanno.

 

[Maurepas]

As I said earlier, this is really hard to do to yourself if you are an otherwise healthy adult. You would have to quickly drink enormous amounts of water.

And if you are eating a normal diet, you are getting a fair amount of salt. MRE's all tend to be high in sodium. So are canned foods. 5 saltine crackers have as much sodium as 8 oz of gatorade. Pretzels have even more.

I mean, think about it. What did our grandparents and great grandparents do? Mine worked like crazy in the heat of the South, ate natural foods, used a little salt, drank as much as they wanted when they were thirsty and did just fine.

Electrolyte solutions are great and do speed your recovery time but to not drink if the electrolyte solution is unavailable would be stupid.

The chance of becoming dehydrated is far greater than of over hydrating.

 

[speedofl33t]

I think the greatest risk of something bad happening is if you are ill to begin with,

 

[Pfc_Willson]

thats why they tell us to keep our salts up

 

[trainedtosave]

Drink when you're thirsty: Problem solved.

If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. If you aren't pissing clear, you aren't drinking enough water. When I am hiking, I can drink up to 4 liters a day, or more. Sitting around, I still drink a lot of water. I keep a canteen on my desk and probably drink 3 liters a day, just being sedentary. I don't feel that it is too much, and I just drink room temperature tap water.

 

[Normann]

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