A mother of two died of water poisoning after drinking the equivalent of two liters of water in 20 minutes.
- An American mother has died after drinking two liters of water in 20 minutes.
- This resulted in water poisoning, a rare but dangerous disease.
- Experts recommend drinking no more than a liter of water per hour.
A rare phenomenon claimed a 35-year-old American victim. Indeed, Ashley Summers, a mother of two children, died after drinking too much water, too quickly. This tragedy, called water intoxication, happened after she drank about two liters of water (64 ounces is 1.89 liters) in 20 minutes.
4 small bottles of water caused her discomfort
While celebrating the 4th of July, the American national holiday, on a lake in Indiana, United States, she began to feel dehydrated, her brother Devon Miller told the show “Good Morning America“:
“At some point during the day, she started having a headache (…) So she drank a lot of water.”
She drank 4 small bottles of about 50 cl each, the equivalent of the recommended consumption for the day, in about twenty minutes. Soon after, she began to feel dizzy. Back home, she passed out in the garage and never regained consciousness. The 30-year-old died in hospital of water poisoning, according to her doctors.
Water poisoning can be deadly
Water intoxication is caused by drinking a very large amount of water too quickly. This disrupts the balance of electrolytes in the body, according to a study published by the US National Institutes of Health.
“Symptoms of overhydration may include altered mental status, disorientation, confusion, nausea, and vomiting“, specifies the organization.
If not detected early, the brain is likely to swell, as it did for Ashley Summers. This can lead to headaches, epileptic seizures or more serious a cerebral edema, coma or death.
Hydration: it is necessary to space out the water consumption
Dr. Stephanie Widmer, ABC News medical contributor, certified emergency physician and medical toxicologist, clarified that the key to preventing water intoxication is to space out its consumption throughout the day.
“The general recommendation is to drink two liters of water per day, on average, per person, throughout the day.“, said Dr. Widmer. “But you shouldn’t consume more than a liter of water per hour either.”, she added.
