Woman drinks so much water she dies (1 Viewer)

[Holadem]

The idea that excess water consumption could be fatal is counter-intuitive enough to preclude anyone from calling the unwitting victim "stupid".

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H

 

[Malcolm R]

There was also the kid that died from it just a few years ago during part of a frat hazing ritual. They made him chug huge amounts of water thru a funnel.

I figured since that was all over the news, most would be aware of it by now. It's hardly the first time this has happened and been headline news.

 

[JeremyErwin]

I don't have asubscription to Military Medicine, but this abstract sounds pertinent
Mil Med. 2002 May;167(5):432-4.

 

[Brian D H]

Um, no. She didn't die from water in her lungs (drowning). She died because there was too much water in her entire system and specifically too low sodium in her blood as a result. If she'd drunken the same amount of an electrolyte liquid instead, like gatorade, she might be alive.

 

[ThomasC]

Correct. Until it was mentioned in this thread, I didn't know that ecstacy alone wouldn't kill someone in most cases. Does ecstacy make you think that you're dehydrated, or does it actually dehydrate you?

 

[MarkHastings]

I think the idea of participating in any of these types of "Fear Factor" games (no matter how timid they seem) is pretty stupid in the first place.

 

[Brian D H]

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor have I studied this in depth. I'm going to repeat what I've read from memory.

As I understand it, it does both. People frequently will party for hours on ecstacy (frequently mixed with other more dangerous drugs) and risk dehydration mainly from the fact that they are dancing for many hours with nothing to drink except alcohol (although I believe that ecstacy will dehydrate you somewhat as well). So if you're drinking alcohol you can die from dehydration and alcohol poisoning, and if you're drinking water you can die from that, too, but that's much more rare. The problem with ecstacy is that you will remain thirsty regardless of how much you drink. Obviously, to be "safe", you would need a spotter, who's clean, who can monitor what you drink and how much. -But who would you be willing to trust your life to at an ecstacy party?
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Now, since this radio contest effectively negated her natural desire to stop drinking, and since she probably believed that water was harmless; it might be argued that the contest was the equivalent of taking ecstacy. While this arguement sounds like something out of 'Boston Legal' I wonder how the lawyers will argue this.

 

[Henry Gale]

When did I say she did?

 

[Brian D H]

That certainly sounds like you think she had water in her lungs to me.

 

[Holadem]

Not quite.

In a nutshell:

1- Ecstasy, as a stimulant, increases your body temperature. It also happens to reduce your body's ability to cool itself 9according to wiki, by contricting blood vessels near the skin).

2- The typical setting of the drug use causes dehydration: Alcohol is a dehydrant. So is dancing and sweating for hours in a hot crowded room (a feat greatly facilitated by the drug-induced euphoria). Since the body cools itself by sweating, dehydration impairs this ability. The result is hyperthermia ==> Death for the unlucky few.

3- Knowing 1 & 2, some have been overzealous in their efforts to stave off dehydration by swallowing gobs of water... (too much).

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H

 

[MarkHastings]

I would imagine that one would stop drinking water if it backed up enough to start filling the lungs? I can't even begin to imagine getting to that point.

 

[Jay H]

I've heard of this from a hiking and also a running standpoint. Growing up, all you hear about is drink fluids...drink drink drink... now this!

Next thing is breathing too much air will kill ya!

Jay

 

[Holadem]

The idea of drinking enough to spill over from the oesophagus to the lungs (I cannot believe I am typing this) is the strangest thing I've heard in a while. Ever heard of vomiting? It's kind of a reflex, and it exists precisely for such (bizarre) eventualities.

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H

 

[Brian D H]

Sorry if the last few posts are joking, but again, she didn't drown and water did not spill into her lungs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

"Water intoxication (also known as hyperhydration or water poisoning) is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain function that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by a very rapid intake of water

Physiology of water intoxication
Body fluids contain electrolytes (particularly sodium compounds, such as sodium chloride) in concentrations that must be held within very narrow limits. Water enters the body orally or intravenously and leaves the body primarily in the urine, sweat and by exhaled water vapour. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, body fluids are diluted and a potentially dangerous shift in electrolyte balance occurs."
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Holadem: Thank's for the clarification

 

[Henry Gale]

Brian,
I don't think you were rude.
We're talking about several things here, some of which happened in Sacramento, some of which didn't.
For instance, none of us think this woman was at a rave.

 

[Henry Gale]

H

When it happens during your birthday party we call it "going down the wrong pipe" and it usually involves a bit of coughing and sputtering (I can't believe I'm having to type this) and when it happens in more unpleasant places than you can imagine you're immobilized and whether or not you vomit you're going to be in deep doodoo.
Again, I'm not talking about everyday experiences here, I talking about things that can and actually have happened in the extremes of human existence.
Now, for the casual readers, I don't think the lady in the Wii contest was tortured. But, I do think she died a miserable death.
I'm done here.

 

[MarkHastings]

Henry, "Going down the wrong pipe" is due to accidental inhaling while swallowing. i.e. there's a "latch" that controls what goes to the lungs and what goes to the stomach. That's not exactly the same as your stomach filling up to the point that it overflows into the lungs.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I just read today that she didn't even win the contest. She took second.

Water intoxication sounds like a horrible way to go.

 

[Mark Giles]

I thought that the lungs are never really affected as far as water is concerned. For example, when you drown, it's actually your lungs cutting off the passage of air (since there's no air) and thus you suffocating. So either way, drinking too much or drowning, water never really enters the lungs. Correct?

 

[Henry Gale]

(CBS/AP) "A Sacramento area radio station fired 10 employees Tuesday, including three morning disc jockeys, in reaction to a tragedy in which a woman died Friday after an on-air water-drinking contest at the station's studios.

The hosts of the KDND-FM "Morning Rave" show - who go by the on-air names Trish, Maney and Lukas - were fired a day after the station suspended the show and said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.

Jennifer Lea Strange, 28, died after participating in a water-drinking contest on the hit music radio station, which calls itself – playing on the sound of its call letters – The End.

CBS News station KOVR-TV reports that during the contest, a listener - self-identified as a nurse - called the live radio broadcast and warned that the game was dangerous.

"I want to say that those people drinking all that water can get sick and die from water intoxication," said the caller.

"Yeah, we're aware of that," replied a DJ, according to the broadcast news report. "They signed releases so we're not responsible, okay?" "

The complete story is at CBS News