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lassitudecd t1_isp4rbq wrote

Drinking too much water can cause problems, but it takes far more than 3-4 liters.

I have a now deceased uncle who in his 20's was in an environment and job where he was drinking about 8 gallons a day (about 30 liters a day). He did that for so long it actually caused him to have a heart attack in his 20's, that they found the damage for a few decades later. His kidneys and liver were fine.

So yes, drinking too much water can cause damage, but you need to drink far more than you are proposing.

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FellowConspirator t1_isp6j28 wrote

Drinking too much water is unlikely to cause liver or kidney problems. However, it can cause other problems. If drunk in too short a period of time, 3-4 L is enough to cause acute hyponatremia, which is tissue swelling triggered by a drop in blood sodium concentration (the brain can fatally swell). Consistently drinking large volumes of water can also cause hypervolemia, fluid overload, which triggers swelling but also high blood pressure and the cardiac risks associated with that.

Unless otherwise medically directed, a typical person should only drink fluids when they feel thirsty, or in a situation where they are being quickly depleted of fluids (intense exercise, hot temperatures, or suffering from diarrhea or vomiting).

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vasculature t1_isp6vru wrote

3 liters is around the recommended daily water intake. So if anything you're probably doing better than the average person keeping well hydrated.

It is possible to drink too much water and become over-hydrated, however you need to drink around 20 liters - which honestly sounds incredibly challenging to even do. A lot of the complications from over hydration are due to you now having a diluted amount of sodium/potassium (electrolytes) in your blood stream. Basically your kidneys pee out the excess water, but this takes some of the electrolytes in your blood with it. Electrolyte imbalances mess up all of your organs in various ways.

TLDR; Kidneys and liver can be harmed by over hydration, but 3L of water a day is not anything to worry about

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Praben-_ t1_isp8yf7 wrote

I remember a story/video describing a radio contest where the 2 contestants compete to drink more water. The winner drank like 10L 3.5 gal of water. She went home and and got a horrible migraine tried to sleep it off and went into a coma and died. The water was distilled, so it had no mineral salts. The distilled water diluted her electrolytes and brain chemistry so badly it caused her nervous system to shut down. I will look for the video if your interested.

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oodex t1_ispbvmh wrote

Replying to Praben-_ (#125,885)

The problem was not the amount, but the time she drank the amount in. Over a day it wouldn't have been a problem, but she forced it in like crazy

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SafetyMan35 t1_ispeo8u wrote

As others have said, it varies based on your exertion, heat and other water loss. Too much water in too short a time can throw off your electrolytes and lead to damage. If your urine is a light yellow color you are likely fine. If every urine is clear on a regular basis you could be drinking too much, and if your urine is a dark yellow or orange, you likely aren’t drinking enough

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WaterASAP t1_ispg6wa wrote

Replying to Praben-_ (#125,885)

I’m a nurse and I remember a patient I had in the ER had a seizure because her blood sodium was too low because of dilution secondary to a disorder she had. I asked her name to assess her mental status and I watched her have a seizure that instant, it was horrifying seeing that happen with her husband sitting beside. Generally speaking, Too much of anything is bad

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regular_modern_girl t1_isq2xck wrote

water doesn’t specifically cause organ damage in and of itself, but it is possible to basically dilute your body’s ion content by drinking too much in a short period (or else, by not urinating enough for one reason or another, including certain kidney issues). This condition is called hyponatremia (“low sodium”, basically), because the main issue is the blood becoming dilute enough that sodium has trouble reaching the nervous system in the amounts it requires, and this leads to a variety of primarily neurological symptoms (headaches, nausea, poor balance, confusion, and in severe cases seizures and coma), which can somewhat resemble drunkenness, hence the popular (but sort of inaccurate) term “water intoxication”.

Luckily, in most cases it resolves on its own without too much trouble, and only very rarely becomes actually life-threatening. The one thing you have to watch out for with it is that the symptoms can actually sometimes be mistaken for dehydration, which can obviously lead to more water consumption, and a worsening of symptoms (the sign to look out for is whether ones urine is dark-colored or totally clear). Drinking electrolyte drink mixes can help prevent hyponatremia.

So basically, no (realistic) amount of water is bad for most of your organs, except arguably your nervous system under extreme and fairly unusual circumstances. But in general, there’s no such thing as “too much water” on a habitual level.

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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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Solesaver t1_isrduv0 wrote

Replying to Puppy-Zwolle (#129,575)

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

Replying to Solesaver (#129,746)

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

Replying to Solesaver (#127,734)

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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