25 April 2013-We are always told by doctors that drinking lots of water is good for the body. Water flushes out the toxins from the body and is therefore our life force. However, too much water in the kidneys is harmful.
Drinking too much water is unhealthy and can lead to fatal kidney problems. As they say, too much of good things are also bad. So even the life giving water can take your life if consumed excessively.
How The Kidneys Function:
Our kidneys are the filters for the body. They filter out the waste products from the blood and turn them to urine that will be passed out. Now outside the kidney cells, there is sodium which helps to maintain the fluid balance. When you drink too much water for your kidneys to handle, fluid balance of the body is ruined.
There is too much water and not enough sodium. This the water starts seeping into the cells. Now the cells can stretch to a certain limit but beyond it they burst. That is why too much water makes the kidney cells burst.
Effects Of Drinking Too Much Water
Brain Swelling
The excess water goes to your brain and then the lining of your brain starts swelling. This a very dangerous situation.
Seizures
when your brain has too much water, you can experience seizures and blackouts.
Brain Haemorrhage
If your brain cells start bursting due to excess water retention, there is bound to be internal bleeding and haemorrhaging.
Coma
If the internal bleeding is not stemmed immediately, it can lead to a state of coma and even death.
Who Is At Risk:
Having too much water in your kidneys is not just a medical possibility. People have actually died due to this cause. However, it is very difficult for a normal person to have so much water in their day to day life. Athletes are at great risk of drinking too much water.
This is because they keep drinking too much water to hydrate themselves. Also people who participate in water drinking competitions or other such bizarre events have collapsed due to excessive water intake in the past.
Too much water can harm your kidneys. So never have more than 6-7 litres of water in a day under normal conditions. Always space out your intake of water evenly throughout the day. This prevents an overload on your kidneys.
