Share
4th August 2023
08:10am BST
A mum-of-two has died after reportedly drinking too much water, too quickly.
Ashley Summers, 35, died from water toxicity shortly after spending a leisurely day at Lake Freeman, a popular summer destination about 80 miles north of Indianapolis over the long fourth of July weekend.
The 35-year-old, her family said, had felt light-headed, and dehydrated and could not drink enough water to quench her thirst.
In just 20 minutes, Summers was said to have downed 64 ouches of water - about a day's worth, or almost two litres, some reports have suggested.
After returning home, Summers collapsed in her garage, having suffered severe brain swelling. She never regained consciousness.
At the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with water toxicity, also called hyponatremia, which develops as a result of there being too much water in the body and not enough sodium.
"It was a shock to all of us. When they first started talking about water toxicity. It was like this is a thing?" Summers' brother, Devon Miller, told WRTV.
"Someone said she drank four bottles of water in 20 minutes. I mean, an average water bottle is like 16 ounces, so that was 64 ounces that she drank in a span of 20 minutes. That’s half a gallon. That’s what you’re supposed to drink in a whole day."
Water poisoning, or hyponatraemia, occurs when someone consumes an excessive amount of water in a short amount of time, overwhelming the ability of the body's complex organ systems, primarily the kidneys, to regulate the balance of fluids.
The goal is to strike an equilibrium between water and electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and chloride, which ensures proper cell function, the Mail reports. Sodium is crucial for its ability to maintain communication between cells via electrical impulses and also aids in the absorption of nutrients in the digestive system and the kidneys, which adjusts the amount of water and electrolytes reabsorbed into the bloodstream or excreted through urine.
Dr Alok Harwani told WLFI that hyponatraemia is "relatively rare."
"Now, what we are concerned about is just drinking too much water in a short period of time. Your kidneys can really only clear about a litre of water per hour."
The doctor advised, when spending a lot of time outside in hot weather, to continue to eat or drink things with electrolytes, like fruit or Gatorade, in addition to plain water. This, he said, helps maintain the balance of water and sodium in the blood.
"Things to look out for are if you just start feeling really out of it, very tired, very fatigued.
"Sometimes patients feel like they’re starting to have a mild headache, or are just feeling overall unwell. Those could be early signs of water intoxication … So, if you’re really concerned that you or a family member is not acting right and you’re worried about water toxicity, don’t hesitate to call 911, don’t hesitate to go to the [emergency room]."
According to Scientific American, people have died from the condition in everything from a radio station’s on-air water drinking contest, to a fraternity hazing ritual in which a California university student was forced to drink copious amounts of water in between rounds of push-ups, The Independent noted.
People taking drugs like MDMA at nightclubs can be susceptible to the condition as they sweat profusely and rehydrate with water over hours of dancing.
Read also:
