Therapist substantiated the harm of excessive drinking in the heat

The case of an American woman who died after she drank two liters of water worried many

Drinking a lot of liquid is not only harmful, but also dangerous. The media told about the strange case of a 35-year-old American woman who, after walking through the 30-degree heat, was so thirsty that she drank four half-liter bottles of water in a row. Half an hour later, she dropped dead. Doctors allegedly stated that she had hyponatremia, a serious condition that usually develops when there is a shortage of salt in the body. “MK” found out whether everyone should be afraid of such complications, and what else an excess of moisture in the body can turn into.

With hyponatremia, the concentration of sodium in the blood decreases (and heavy drinking contributes to this). The kidneys cease to “monitor” the fluid balance, which can result in cerebral edema. At the same time, it is reported that the deceased American Ashley Summers did not complain about her health, but our experts strongly doubt that such a story could happen to an absolutely healthy person.

“Many diseases are secretive, and hyponatremia just doesn’t develop out of nowhere. This suggests that the woman had some kind of problem with sodium, at least. She may have had undiagnosed chronic kidney disease, whatever. It is difficult to understand this situation without seeing the woman’s medical record, ”cardiologist Nikolai Trofimtsev told MK.

“I have never heard of such cases, and in my many years of medical practice I have never come across such a thing,” Valentina Zabelina, a district therapist at city polyclinic number 69, told MK. – And in general, can you imagine a person who can drink two liters of water at once in one gulp? The story sounds very unbelievable.

Theoretically, against the background of thirst from such an amount of liquid, hyponatremia can develop, but, most likely, this woman initially had some kind of health problems that sharply worsened against the background of rapid quenching of thirst.

– That is, you did not have patients who can drink so much?

– Yes you! Quite the contrary – we cannot force patients to drink enough! Many people do not drink the required amount of water daily.

– Still, doctors always recommend drinking in small portions in the heat. It turns out that drinking a lot is still harmful?

– Of course! Both harmful and dangerous. When drinking very large doses of water once, heaviness in the stomach, palpitations, shortness of breath can develop, this is a serious burden on the kidneys. At the same time, a person will not feel either satisfaction or saturation. Perhaps this woman was simply sitting on a salt-free diet, which, in principle, can lead to hyponatremia. Then yes, this amount of water was fatal to her.