Woman Nearly Dies After Drinking Too Much Water To Cure Urinary Tract Infection

Health experts have issued a warning over ‘drinking plenty of fluids’ when unwell after a woman almost died from overdosing on water.

Doctors at King’s College Hospital in London questioned the recommendation after treating a 59-year-old woman who had drunk so much water that she became gravely ill, Mirror reports.

The woman effectively overdosed on water after developing symptoms of a urinary tract infection, something she had suffered from before.

She recalled being told by a doctor previously to drink lots of water, half a pint every 30 minutes, though she said she thought, in this case, she had consumed more to “flush out her system”.

The woman was admitted to A&E, where doctors found she was suffering from acute hyponatraemia, which is caused by low salt levels in the blood.

She developed terrifying symptoms, initially thought to be a stroke, including difficulty finding words, shaking and vomiting.

A death rate of almost 30{72520aac9c996139d3a86685c1081a66013f9c4773aa29a9e91c28d0a5525be8} has been reported in patients with abnormally low salt levels.

It can occur if too much water is drunk over a short period of time, symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and headaches.

In serious cases, the brain can swell, which can lead to confusion, seizures, coma, and death.

Writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports, doctors described how the woman got worse, explaining that during her visit to the emergency department, she became progressively shaky and muddled.

They also added that she vomited several times, was tremulous and exhibited significant speech difficulties.

Although doctors were able to save the woman’s life with treatment including restricting her fluid intake to a liter over the next 24 hours, they described another case in which a young woman suffering from gastroenteritis died after consuming too much water.

People who take the drug MDMA and those taking part in endurance sports are also at risk of acute hyponatraemia.

“We frequently advise our patients to ‘drink plenty of fluids’ and ‘keep well-hydrated’ when they are unwell. But, what do we mean by that? Are there potential risks of this apparently harmless advice?” the doctors said.

“As demonstrated here, the harmful effects of increased fluid intake include confusion, vomiting and speech disturbance, and potential for catastrophic outcomes due to low blood sodium concentrations,” they added.

Further, the doctors concluded that there is a paucity of evidence behind the advice to ‘drink plenty of fluids’ in the management of mild infective illness. 

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Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning, hyperhydration, overhydration, or water toxemia, 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 excessive water intake.

The condition is more common in infants, due to their small body mass or in marathon runners.

Artist Andy Warhol is thought to have potentially died of water intoxication.

Five years after the death of the artist his family accused the hospital of causing his death by administering too much water after his gallbladder was removed.

The fact his weight was 22 lbs heavier at his autopsy than when he was admitted was cited as evidence.

In addition, British actor Anthony Andrews suffered a case of water poisoning in 2003.

He was drinking eight liters of water a day, during the time he was playing Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady.

The condition left him unconscious and in intensive care for three days.

Source: Mirror