Question

Radio Station Contest: "Hold your Wee for a Wii", • Stage 1 8 oz water every 10-15 minutes Stage 2 16 oz water every 10-15 minutes • Contestant drank almost 2 gallons in ~3 hours • Not allowed to urinate or vomit H20 What would happen to cells in the body as a result of "water intoxication"? Draw what you believe would happen in the body's cells below. How should water intoxication be treated?

Answer 1

It is important to keep the cells of the human body hydrated by drinking water, but excessive intake of water in a short period of time can be fatal, the daily recommended water intake is approximately 2litres in 24 hours, also it is very important to check urine output , a normal kidney can excrete almost 800 ml of urine in one hour.

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Drinking too much water in a short of time causes hyponatremia, a state in which the blood sodium level gets diluted also it stimulates posterior pituitary to release ADH ( a hormone which doesn't allow the kidney to excrete water).

Excess amount of water makes the extracellular compartment swell and the excess water moved into the intracellular compartment by the process called osmosis.

The fatal condition arises when this excess water moved into the brain cells, although there is no space in the brain to expand but if it expands it causes various complications such as seizure, confusion, fatigue and ultimately it may lead to the death.

Water intoxication treatment

1.water intoxication can be treated by ADH antagonist or vasopressin antagonist such as diuretics to remove excessive amount of fluids from the body,

2. Osmotic diuretics are given to reduce the fluid from the brain cells, by osmosis.

3. Restrict fluid intake.

4. Administer sodium intravenously.

5. Monitor urine output.