Drinking Water Can Kill: Too Much H2O Linked to Deadly Symptoms in Athletes

Drinking too much water can be fatal, recently published guidelines for athletes informs.

Excess consumption of water during exercise can overwhelm kidneys and cause a drastic dip in the body's sodium levels, a condition called exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH). This in turn causes cells to swell, which is a life-threatening condition. Sportspersons often consume excess fluids to prevent fatigued, muscle cramps or heat stroke besides dehydration. The new guidelines suggest that listening to the body's thirst demand is the best way to hydrating it.

"Using the innate thirst mechanism to guide fluid consumption is a strategy that should limit drinking in excess and developing hyponatremia while providing sufficient fluid to prevent excessive dehydration," according to the guidelines, published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.

"Muscle cramps and heatstroke are not related to dehydration. You get heat stroke because you're producing too much heat," Dr. James Winger one of the members of the panel that formulated the guidelines said.

Symptoms of mild EAH include light-headedness, dizziness, nausea, weight-gain during an athletic event but severe EAH can also alter state of mind and result in coma.

According to the guidelines, EAH can be treated by with a concentrated saline solution that has 3 percent sodium.