Woman drinks so much water she dies (1 Viewer)

[Bryan X]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/13/wat....ap/index.html

Sad. I'm typically very much in the 'take personal responsibility' camp but Ive got mixed feelings on this one. Yeah, it's the lady's own fault for drinking so much water, but I'd guess the average person doesn't realize one can die from doing that. It's not like the radio station held a 'Russian Roulette' contest. Everyone knows a bullet to the brain will probably kill you. Drinking water? Most people don't know that drinking absurd amounts can be deadly. Any thoughts?

 

[Chris]

I smell a lawsuit. Seriously, though, the radio station should have been somewhat aware of all the risks of any contest they hold. And a contest which encourages people to drink obscene amounts of water should have been better vetted. Hell, if nothing else, I figured they would have had a medical staff person there in case someone had Kidney reflux (a reverse push from the kidneys.. also very bad), etc.

 

[Bob_L]

Considering that the station was GIVING them the water, apparently without having done due diligence on any possible medical impact of the contest, suggests a BIG lawsuit to me. This woman's family should own a radio station at the end of it. (and I'm ALSO usually a big personal responsibility guy).

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Hmmmm...and I'm still a member of the California Bar......where's that $$$ smiley?

 

[Henry Gale]

Lawsuit? Without a doubt.

A contest to see who can go without peeing the longest, for a $200.00 toy?
Were there rules?
Like:
1)No peeing
2)No diapers
3)No catheters
4)No dying

From the Sacramento Bee article....

"Water intoxication -- or hyponatremia -- occurs when sodium levels in the blood drop too low because someone has ingested too much water, excreted too much sodium or taken medications that sap important minerals from the body. The body's electrolyte balance is thrown off and the condition can lead to cardiac arrest....

In some cases, water intoxication also can lead to a swelling of the brain"

And there was no one at the radio station that could imagine this was not only risky...but just too tacky to be connected with?

 

[MarkHastings]

I boggles my mind to what lengths parents will go to get their kid a toy. Remember Tickle Me Elmo? Remember Cabbage Patch Kids? Beanie Babies? Pokemon? etc. etc. :frowning:

 

[drobbins]

My wife camped out in WalMart all night to get 1st in line for a Wii for our kids Christmas.

I wonder how those kids feel about playing video games now? Knowing their Mom died trying to get them one.

 

[Eric_L]

Mamybe next week they can have a 'dangle from a rope by your neck' contest? I'd be willing to bet more than a few dumbasses would show up.

 

[Mike Heenan]

I wonder how much she ended up drinking? I've drank and held 1 to 2gallons of water and soda (mostly water though) one time to get a little help with a weight loss contest.

 

[Jimi C]

I'm sorry, but, oh the irony. I know that wasn't intentional.

 

[PeterK]

what's the LD-50 of water? 6 litres in 4 hours i think?
just playing the numbers it's not surprising someone ended up dying :frowning:

 

[Greg_S_H]

"ha, ha, stupide porson."

 

[Edwin-S]

How many average people even know what the term "LD50" means? Let alone what the LD50 level of water is. Frankly, some of the comments (not yours) being made in this thread are atrocious. How many average people are even aware that overconsumption of water can lead to "water intoxification". I certainly didn't. I only learned of it when I read the article. Calling her stupid is really callous, since nobody here can determine if she was even aware that she could die from overconsumption of water. If she knew that and continued to engage in the contest then, yes, she could be considered stupid. However, It is more likely that she was completely unaware of the danger and trusted that the radio station putting on the contest would not engage in a contest that actually endangered people.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Most people that die from taking ecstacy is because they end up drinking an insane amount of water. Figured this was common sense by now from all the news stories about that. The radio station definitely is at fault here. The people that didn't know any better are second in line. Stupidity all around.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm older than most in this thread and I never heard of water intoxification. However, that just makes me "ignorant" not "stupid" and everyone of us has some of the former.



Crawdaddy

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I don't recall ever reading about water intoxication but understand without a doubt too much of anything can kill you and assumed there are no exceptions to that rule. The radio station should quickly turn this over to their insurance company and hire a public relations firm. I am sure there was no criminal negligence but civil liability here seems a certainty. I have often wondered about those all you can eat events which sound much more deadly.

It is a sad story and I would have not been concerned about participating myself. It will be interesting to see what disclaimer was required before participation and if the risks were clearly spelled out. As far as I know, water drinking contests are not regulated or against the law, but they may be soon.

Chris

 

[Henry Gale]

Edwin,
Atrocious and callous....that would be me, and you are correct.
I knew when I was typing "stupid" that I should be using "ignorant"...but I was trying to be funny. I think I'll delete that.
But, I'm pretty average and I am well aware of water intoxication. It's used as
a method of torture and it's also called drowning.
Trusting a radio station? Well, that's just.........

 

[John Alvarez]

I have heard of this because there have been several reported cases of parents forcing their kids into drinking excessive amounts of water causing death in the news. One was of a sitter that did it to a child who had wet their pants.

 

[Al.Anderson]

I only read about the dangers of too much water within the last year. It was in the context of distance runners. Up until that point I would have thought water was the one exception to the "too much of anything is bad" rule. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people aware of this danger. I definitely blame the radio station on this one. I'm not a sue 'em person - but I would be going all out for this one.


No it's not. Drowning is liquid in the lungs.

 

[Henry Gale]

Yes, but if you put enough liquid down your oesophagus, it will at some point start going down your windpipe, to the lungs.

“If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck / I’d dive to the bottom and drink my way up.”

That’s why those absurd lyrics to "Rye Whiskey" are funny, even to a child, because we already know that much about anatomy and excess..