10 Unusual Side Effects Of Drinking Too Much Water


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Too much of anything can be bad for you – we all know this. But do you know that this holds true for water as well? Water is good for rehydration. But when it exceeds the permissible consumption limits, it can make people sick.


There have been severe cases where the over-consumption of water had led to death. You may have been told to drink more and more water, but the outcome can be fatal when you disregard your actual body requirements. The phenomenon is called water intoxication.

When you drink water just for the sake of doing so, you put extra pressure on your body. How? There are many ways in which your body is over-stressed.



Let’s Have A Look At The Severe Side Effects Of Drinking Too Much Water:

1. Causes Hyponatremia:

The sodium content in the blood influences the functioning of the electrolytes. These electrolytes are responsible for sending signals to the cells which control various operations of the body. When you consume too much water, the sodium levels in the blood decrease. This stops the electrolytes from sending signals to the cells.

Hyponatremia is a disease caused due to insufficient levels of sodium in the blood. When the level of sodium falls below 135 mm per liter, it causes swelling in cells. The symptoms of this disease involve nausea, vomiting, fatigue, excessive urination, disorientation, and headache. It is the worst outcome of drinking too much water as it may eventually lead to death. However, it is quite unusual and rare.

2. Overburdens The Heart:

The heart performs the vital function of pumping blood through your entire body. When you consume too much of water, this increases the volume of blood inside your body. The increased blood volume causes unnecessary pressure on the blood vessels and the heart, leading to seizure in some cases.

3. Causes Damage To Glomeruli:

Glomeruli are capillary beds in our kidneys. They work as a filtering station to excrete excess water from the body. Too much of water can cause potential damage to this system, leading to serious health hazards. The kidneys have to work overtime to process all this unnecessary water that is beyond their normal filtering capacity (1000 ml per hour).


4. Causes Swelling Of Cells:

As your blood gets diluted due to excess water, the concentration of electrolytes in the blood becomes lower than that in the cells. To maintain a balance in the concentration of electrolytes in the blood and the cells, water begins to flow into the cells. This results in swelling of cells, which is a dangerous condition.

5. Causes Brain Edema:

This is the swelling of brain cells. It is as hazardous as it sounds. Most of the cells in our body have a lot of room to stretch out. But the flat bones in our skull do not leave much space for the brain cells to be accommodated freely. When excess water in the blood vessels starts seeping into the brain cells, it causes swelling in the cells of the brain. This leads to severe conditions that include coma, brainstem herniation, and respiratory attack.

6. Depletes Potassium:

Potassium is an essential nutrient for your body and you must maintain its proper levels as such. But sometimes, excess water causes a dip in the concentration of potassium. This may cause problems like irritation, chest pain, leg pain, etc.

7. Causes Stomach Irritation:

Sometimes, drinking excess water leads to an imbalance in electrolytes. This imbalance leads to irritation in your stomach. It is also a preliminary stage of hyponatremia.


8. Liver Problems:

Here, it is important to note that this problem is not caused by merely drinking too much water. Rather, it happens by drinking too much of water with iron in it. Iron overload is not exactly detrimental, but, in rare cases, it may cause liver-related problems as well.

Everything good can be bad if taken too much

Yes o, though I never thought the excess could have such devastating effect. Make God dey help person jare

Moderation is always key.

K