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Solesaver t1_isq6y3g wrote

Someone please factually correct me, but I don't think the comments saying it's possible to drink "too much" water are correct. The key distinction is that there is no such thing as water poisoning, or anything like that. Your body will flush any excess water you drink.

The problem is, as others have explained, that when your body flushes the water it takes important vitamins and minerals with it. If you're able to replace those you should be fine. The first that you would probably notice is sodium/electrolytes. Beyond that, any water soluble vitamins and minerals could become a problem.

The best answer is still drink water when you're thirsty. If you're expending a lot of water due to heat, exercise, or illness you may need to supplement with electrolytes. 3-4 liters a day is pretty normal and should not cause any issues.

Edit: I said factually correct me... Y'all keep "correcting" me by agreeing with me. It's not too much water that kills you. It's low electrolytes.

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Puppy-Zwolle t1_israkjf wrote

Here's the thing. CO isn't actually poisonous it just bonds to your blood like oxygen thus preventing your blood from transporting enough oxygen.

An air mixture with too much oxygen will also kill you outright.

So yes 'water poisoning' is a thing just like oxygen poisoning and CO poisoning.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

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Solesaver t1_isrduv0 wrote

That article matches exactly what I said, and isn't comparable to CO poisoning at all. As you said, CO binds to your red blood cells preventing Oxygen uptake. Water does no such mechanism. You can prevent water intoxication by supplementing your water consumption with sufficient electrolytes. You cannot prevent CO poisoning with supplemental Oxygen.

Oxygen toxicity is also directly damaging. The high level of oxygen is actually damaging your lung (and other organ) tissue. With water intoxication, it's not the H2O that gets you. It's the electrolyte imbalance. Unless you want to squint and say that electrolytes are the antidote to water poisoning, I just don't think that framing paints the right picture.

OP was asking if too much water damages your kidneys or w/e. The implied question there is like, do your kidneys wear themselves out processing all that water, to which the answer is not really. Your body is perfectly fine handling as much water as you could possibly drink. It's more comparable to something like Nitrogen asphyxiation. The Nitrogen isn't killing you, the lack of oxygen is (and the lack of CO2 telling your body not to panic). Nitrogen, in any quantity, isn't really poisonous or toxic.

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Puppy-Zwolle t1_isrytsy wrote

So... we agree on this? You are making the exact same point concerning the answer to the actual question.

Just one difference. You say poison should damage you in some way you say. I think that resulting in death is rather damaging don't you? And extra oxygen (But not dangerous amounts obviously) is exactly how you speed up removal of CO from a person.

Here's the thing. Damage is about overdoing. Insulin for instance. We agree this is necessary for a body to function right? Dump a large enough dose in a body and your body will shut down and you die. Sugar (by many called a modern toxin itself) is the anti-toxin in this case. It's not fighting the toxin but the effect until the balance is restored.

The way insulin works, the way O² works, the way N, CO etc. work is fine....until it isn't. At that point it becomes a poison.

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astro911 t1_iss1cho wrote

I’ll correct you. (Emergency physician) yes it is possible to drink too much. It’s called water intoxication and can cause dangerously low sodium which can be deadly. (Seizure or rarely brain herniation). It must be carefully managed or one can develop osmotic demyelination syndrome if corrected too quickly.

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