Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

overwatered

Here’s another recent death I can’t entirely wrap my head around, for very different reasons: A young, healthy D.C. police officer collapsed Tuesday after a 12-mile bike ride and died the following day. The suspected cause of death: not heat stroke or deydration, but massive overhydration — to the tune of some three gallons of water consumed that day via a backpack hydration system.

Three gallons.

Hyponatremia, an abnormally low salt concentration in the blood, occurs when a person loses a large amount of sodium or consumes a large amount of water. Hyponatremia in athletes is almost always caused by drinking too much water.

As the blood becomes increasingly diluted, water moves out of the bloodstream and into cells, which swell. The swelling of the brain is responsible for the symptoms of severe hyponatremia — nausea, confusion, seizures and coma. If pressure inside the skull increases enough, the base of the brain is squeezed downward through where connects it to the spinal cord, causing death.

(Washington Post: “District Officer Dies After Bike Ride” - 08/11/05)

All things in moderation, yes (three gallons??), but I’m still having trouble getting used to the idea that there’s such a thing as too much water. The admonitions of fitness coaches, doctors and my own mother to drink lots of water still echo in my head.

(Link found via DCist.)