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Is Drinking Excessive Water Harmful To The Body?
Is there such a thing as aquaholicism? I'm a 19 year old Indian female, BMI 20. I live in Bangalore, which does not have a dry climate. I drink about 6 liters of water everyday. My mother is afraid that I might exhaust my kidneys or something like that. I had a urine test, everything's okay, and I urinate about 5 times a day. If I don't drink as much water as I do I feel terribly dehydrated and can have headaches. Nothing is wrong, so far. But I'm worried that drinking too much water might harm me. Am I being paranoid?
posted on
Thu, 13 Mar 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 2 May 2018
Answered on
Fri, 4 May 2018
Last reviewed on
Hello,
Drinking an extreme amount in a short time can be dangerous. It can cause the level of salt, or sodium, in your blood to drop too low. That's a condition called hyponatremia. It's very serious and can be fatal. You may hear it called water intoxication. I suggest you drink 2 liters of liquid a day.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Siddartha
Drinking an extreme amount in a short time can be dangerous. It can cause the level of salt, or sodium, in your blood to drop too low. That's a condition called hyponatremia. It's very serious and can be fatal. You may hear it called water intoxication. I suggest you drink 2 liters of liquid a day.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Siddartha
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