Drinking water can make you sick

During hot weather, or when we are undergoing strenuous exercise, we tend to consume large volume of water frequently. We often do this to keep hydrated. But most times, we may not be aware that there are certain risk posed on our health when the water is over consumed. This write-up empasizes on those health challenges that would occur when you consume too much water more than what the body needs, and it also focuses on how much water you should consume a day in other not to get over hydrated.

The idea of frequently consuming enough water on a daily basis is not really a bad one. Infact, water is necessary for the maintenance of human health. But, when water is consumed in excess, or the total daily fluid is more than required, health problems may ensue.

One major health problem of over hydration or excess intake of water is water intoxication. Water poisoning or intoxication is a disruption of the brain functions due to excessive water consumption.

Several health challenges have been recognized to be caused by water intoxication. For example, drowsiness, muscle weakness or cramping, increased blood pressure, double vision, confusion, inability to identify sensory information and difficulty breathing are consequences of over hydration.

A buildup of fluid in the brain can affect the brain stem and cause central nervous system dysfunction.

In severe cases also, water intoxication can cause seizures, brain damage, a coma and even death, though it's rare.

You don't get water intoxication by accident, rather it happens mostly when we attempt to keep hydrated during hot weather or during exercise

How much water is enough for a day?

Presently, there is no formula to determine how much water is enough for a day to maintain our health. Nevertheless, the total daily fluid intake have to be within the volume that will not lead to either over hydration or cause the body to suffer dehydration. 

 We mostly stick to the general believe that 8 glasses of water a day is enough. But this does not have a scientific backing and still not a constant standard that you must take 8 glasses everyday to meet up to the volume needed by our body. There are certain situations were it will be necessary to take more than 8 glasses a day or even below 8 glasses.

The US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have also given recommendations on the adequate daily fluid intake for an average, healthy adult living in a temperate region.

• About  3.7 liters of fluids a day for men. That volume is approximately equivalent to 7-8 satchet ( pure water) a day.
• About 2.7 liters ( approximately 5-6 satchet water) of fluids a day for women.

The above recommendations is not stringent, it's bound to change based on conditions. There are conditions were your total daily fluid intake should be more than just 6 or 8 satchet water. And there are still situations it should go below 

Situations or conditions that can actually influence how much water to consume are as follows:

Excercise. If you undergo a strenuous exercise, for example, fluid is lost as sweat. Hence, you will need to consume more fluid than usual to replace the lost and prevent dehydration. 

 climate change. In hot climate, we tend to get dehydrated easily, as water is often lost as sweat, so there will be a need to consume more water to rehydrate the body. However, in the raining season or during cold weather, the fluid lost is reduced since the major route through which water leave the body is by urination. Thus, the daily water intake should be reduced

Food. Some of the foods we consume such as beverages, fruits and vegetables contain water and can serve as water source for our body. The amount of these foods we consume a day should influence the total daily fluid intake. If you had consumed  enough watermelon for a particular day, for instance, the quantity of plain water should be reduced.

A lactating (breastfeeding) mother requires more water compared to a woman that is not breastfeeding.

Health conditions. When you are running a fever or you are experiencing symptoms of diarrhea such as vomiting and frequent stooling, your body need more water to replace the lost and save you from getting dehydration.

Although we can go above or below the recommendations, depending on the situations, our daily fluid intake should not go overly above the recommendations or critically below it.