Friday, February 1, 2008

Watch your water intake...

The Daily Mail reports that an "inquest has heard today how a 35-year-old man literally drank himself to death after consuming too much water.
Shaun McNamara was found on the floor of his bathroom last September after downing a massive quantity of water.
It was initially believed he had suffered a heart attack - but a post-mortem revealed that he had downed so much fluid rapidly that his brain had swollen.
This led to his bizarre death from water intoxication - a highly unusual cause which has very few recorded cases and is normally linked to marathon runners drinking too much water after a race.
In April last year, David Rogers a 22-year-old fitness instructor from Milton Keynes died from water intoxication after completing his first London Marathon.
Hyponatremia is when there is so much water in the body that it dilutes vital minerals such as sodium down to dangerous levels. It can lead to confusion, headaches and a fatal swelling of the brain.
At Shaun McNamara's inquest Dr Ian Reed, who carried out the post-mortem, said: "In 35 years as a pathologist, I have never come across such a case."
He added that excessive consumption of water could be associated with someone suffering psychological problems.
The inquest heard Shaun's devastated mum, Gillian, describe how her son had a long history of depression and anxiety and had been admitted to hospital after taking an overdose in 2005, something she considered "a cry for help".
But police who found Shaun's body at his home in York found no signs of self-harm or any indication that he wanted to commit suicide.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Donald Coverdale said: "This is indeed an unusual case and, I dare say that the consumption of excessive amounts of water may well have gone unnoticed by those around Mr McNamara, certainly less noticed than if he had been consuming large amounts of alcohol.
"It wasn't known to those around him that the quantity of water he was drinking was to prove fatal.
"There is no suggestion on the evidence that Mr McNamara had any intention of taking his own life by ingesting this large amount of water.
"I do believe what has happened here was effectively an accident. As to whether there was any psychological condition that caused him to take so much water, one can only speculate." "

10 comments:

waliz said...

pity this boy..who has thought tht water also can be fatal? eventhough experts said u must drink alot of water atleast 8 glasses a day..i think i drink whenever i feel thirsty..hmm

Shine said...

How unfortunate, this is the example of how excess of everything could be negative. Our bodies have the ability of getting the balance of osmositos with the homeostasis of the body, but when talking about somebody making so much excersice, lost all the minerals, sodium and potasium of the cells when you don't have this in your body, water goes to places where it should not, then the hiponatremia, hipopotasemia, comes with all the symptoms.
Excess are negative. Unless is of kindness and love, in the right direction of course.
Have a great day and thanks for stoping by my blog. I love the name the views of the All seeing Eye, That is a powerfull name, I like it.

BAMBOO BLITZ said...

This was a phenomenon that happened quite often in the late
90s/early 2000s rave culture. Club kids would be all completely high and dancing the night away as they chugged huge quantities of water in order to rehydrate themselves, sometimes resulting in hyponatremia.

bluedreamer27 said...

hey my name is milton too haha thanks that i dont abused drinking water actually i have heard a news like this before in TV....

Fantasy Writer Guy said...

A radio program stupidly sponsored a water-drinking contest. When concerned listeners called in to warn them of fatal consequences the DJ's just laughed at them. Typical. Radio DJ's tend to be very good at laughing at others and little else. I've noticed that radio DJ's are almost universally stupid people. I presume the requirements of the job lead to candidates who are good at coming up with things to say without needing to think first. (No dead air allowed)

In this case a contestant died but radio stations continue to employ the stupid...

The All Seeing Eye said...

But remember to not over indulge in water, Waliz. If you search Google news, you will find other stories that are likw this.

The All Seeing Eye said...

Thanks for your comment and kind words, Shine.

The All Seeing Eye said...

Thanks for your comment, Bamboo Blitz. It's a shame that stil too many people don't realize the danger...

The All Seeing Eye said...

Thanks for your comment, Bluedreamer27.

The All Seeing Eye said...

I heard the same story too, Fantasy Writer Guy. It was a shame becuase she left her children without a mother...