The Dangers of Overhydration

The dog days of summer have arrived! And with them comes a barrage of literature on the importance of hydration - for athletes and non-athletes alike. In our last blog post we told you about the importance of staying properly hydrated. And this turns out to be hugely important because about two thirds of your body is made up of water, which transports nutrients throughout the body, keeps your mucus membranes lubricated and keeps the body at a desirable 98.6 degrees.

But – whether you are drinking water, or beer, everything has its useful limit. Today’s blog post discusses variations on a theme: what happens if you overhydrate?

What Is Overhydration and How Does It Affect the Body?

• Overhydration is simply an excess of water in the body – when the body takes in more water than it loses.
• People can have overhydration if they drink too much water or if they have a disorder that decreases the body's ability to excrete water.
• Often, no symptoms occur, but people may become confused or have seizures.

But, as information on overhydration from Merck.com points out, “to exceed the body's ability to excrete water, a young adult with normal kidney function would have to drink more than 6 gallons of water a day on a regular basis.”

That is a lot of water. But it is still very possible for an athlete concerned with staying hydrated in the summer heat – or a person with psychogenic polydipsia, a mental disorder where a patient feels excessive sensations of dry mouth – to consume too much liquid.

How Do You Treat Overhydration?

• Fluid intake is restricted.
• Limiting fluid intake to less than a quart of fluids in one 24-hour period usually results in improvement over several days.
• If overhydration occurs because of heart, liver, or kidney disease, restricting the intake of sodium (sodium causes the body to retain water) is also helpful.
• Sometimes, doctors prescribe a diuretic, which is a drug that increases sodium as well as water excretion (in the urine).
• In general, diuretics are more useful when overhydration is accompanied by excess blood volume.

If you feel that you could have overhydration or simply want to make sure that you are drinking appropriate amounts of water, talk to your physician, physical trainer, or call the specialists at The Running Institute today!