Just found this in my fave newspaper’s online edition: a woman actually dies…after drinking water.
Unbelieveable. But I had to check it out from the Inquirer:
http://services.inquirer.net/express/07/01/16/html_output/xmlhtml/20070116-43652-xml.html
A California woman died after taking part in a radio station-sponsored water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii video game system, news reports said Monday.
Mother-of-three Jennifer Strange, 28, died on Friday after consuming more than a half gallon (two liters) of water in the “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest organized by KDND 107.9 radio in Sacramento, northern California.
Supposedly this explains how and why:
Water intoxication can occur when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is altered by a rapid intake of water. This can cause brain swelling, seizures, coma or death John Geary, vice president for Entercom Sacramento, the radio station’s owner, said personnel had been stunned by the death.
I know for a fact too much of anything is bad. I drink a lot of water at work.
But…egad, I didn’t realize this can happen. And it did.
Moral lesson: think before you act. And condolences to the mom’s family.