What is water poisoning?
Definition of water intoxication: "Decrease in the
concentration of sodium in the blood (hyponatremia) resulting from the
consumption of excess water without adequate sodium replacement". (1)
Water intoxication is referred to in a number of ways,
including hyponatremia, water intoxication, excessive hydration, or excessive
water intake. All of these terms describe the same serious health problem
caused by electrolyte imbalances, in particular the presence of too much water
(H2O) in the blood compared to sodium.
Hyponatremia refer to a low level of sodium in the blood (a
term with Latin and Greek roots literally means "insufficient amount of
salt in the blood"). Water intoxication, or hyponatremia, is the opposite
of hypernatremia, a condition that occurs due to dehydration (low levels of
water in the body).
Causes of water poisoning:
How can this be evaded, you may be wondering in which
situations water toxicity is most common? Research has shown that this
condition usually develops in hospitalized patients and people with mental
disorders, although it can also affect people who are healthy. Water intoxication
has been described in several different clinical situations:
Compulsive drinking of water is known as psychogenic
polydipsia. Most of the time this is due to mental illness or mental
deficiencies.
Water intoxication is often associated with drinking too
much fluid, as well as increased secretion of vasopressure (also called
antidiuretic hormone), which forces the kidneys to retain water.
Healthy young people, such as athletes or recruits, may
develop hyponatremia (hyperhydration) after heat-related injuries. They can
drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration, but this can backfire if they
consume too much water. A study of hyponatremia in generally healthy recruits
found that 77 percent of hyponatremia cases occurred within the first four
weeks of training, and that most affected recruits drank more than two liters
of water per hour. (2) The authors concluded that “hyponatremia arose as a
result of overly aggressive fluid replacement practices for soldiers in
training. The fluid change policy has been revised to reflect climatic heat
stress and levels of physical activity. ”
Accidental water poisoning can sometimes occur due to kidney
failure/abnormal kidney dysfunction, diabetes insipidus or gastroenteritis
(inflammation of the intestinal lining caused by a virus, bacteria or
parasite). In these situations, hyponatremia is usually treated with gastric
lavage or gastric lavage/gastric lavage. (3)
Iatrogenic causes of water intoxication arise from
complications that arise when treating illnesses with medical intervention, eg,
use of intravenous fluids or electrolytes, elemental nutrition, feeding through
a nasogastric tube, or taking certain neurological/psychiatric medications.
This is unlikely to affect people with normal kidney function and people who
are generally healthy, but it is possible if there are changes in the secretion
of antidiuretic hormone, as this causes fluid accumulation.
In some cases, the water poisoning was due to “drinking
water competitions”, in which people consumed large amounts of water even
though they became ill over time.
When people take an illegal drug called MDMA (or
"ecstasy"), they are at risk for electrolyte imbalances because the
drug makes them feel very hot, makes them sweat and thirst, and causes more
sodium to be lost in the urine. and in sweat. This can lead to drinking too
much water/liquids, which in some cases can lead to water poisoning. (4)
On rare occasions, forced water poisoning has been
recognized as a form of child abuse, which often results in brain damage and
can be fatal.
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