Hyponatremia

A 28-year-old woman found dead hours after taking part in a radio station's water-drinking contest died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday. Assistant Sacramento County Coroner Ed Smith said a preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death." Also known as hyponatremia, water intoxication occurs when the body's sodium level falls below normal.

Drinking six to eight glasses of water each day is healthful, most health experts agree. But apparently not everyone is on the same page. A general practitioner from Scotland says that health advice is “thoroughly debunked nonsense” and is propagated by bottled water companies out to make a profit. In a commentary published online in the British Medical Journal , Margaret McCartney quotes experts that say drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the blood)

Drinking six to eight glasses of water each day is healthful, most health experts agree. But apparently not everyone is on the same page. A general practitioner from Scotland says that health advice is “thoroughly debunked nonsense” and is propagated by bottled water companies out to make a profit. In a commentary published online in the British Medical Journal , Margaret McCartney quotes experts that say drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the blood)

With public concern growing, law officers launched a formal inquiry Wednesday into the death of a 28-year-old mother after she drank nearly 2 gallons of water in a radio station's on-air contest. Jennifer Strange, a mother of three from suburban Rancho Cordova, died Friday of apparent water intoxication hours after a failed attempt to win a Nintendo Wii video game system for her children in a promotion dubbed "Hold Your Wee for a Wii."

THE last thing I remember is feeling slightly dizzy in the final mile. Until then, everything was great at the Reggae Marathon in Jamaica, where my friend Rita Whitney and I were walking the 26.2-mile course to celebrate my 50th birthday. The next thing I remember is waking up from a coma four days later in the intensive care unit at Duke University Medical Center, with no idea how I got there. I have no memory of completing the race, then collapsing just past the finish line.

A newly identified syndrome that most commonly afflicts women after they have undergone routine elective surgery can be treated effectively if diagnosed quickly, researchers say. Brain damage and death can be avoided if the level of sodium in the blood of patients with hyponatremia is raised before they stop breathing, Dr. Allen I. Arieff of the University of California suggests in the New England Journal of Medicine.

With public concern growing, law officers launched a formal inquiry Wednesday into the death of a 28-year-old mother after she drank nearly 2 gallons of water in a radio station's on-air contest. Jennifer Strange, a mother of three from suburban Rancho Cordova, died Friday of apparent water intoxication hours after a failed attempt to win a Nintendo Wii video game system for her children in a promotion dubbed "Hold Your Wee for a Wii."

Three decades ago, the top warning sounded by race officials was dehydration. Athletes were told to hydrate constantly after several studies found a link between dehydration and a rise in body temperature, which can lead to heatstroke. But now researchers are taking a second look at the risks of drinking too much fluid during exercise.

IF you've ever felt as if a workout drained you to exhaustion, consider a Gatorade ad that's been on TV recently. It shows footage of a runner staggering into the home stretch of a race, then collapsing like an inflatable toy pierced by a BB. He tries to crawl to the finish line but stumbles and goes horizontal as medics rush in to help. It's a mix of horror and inspiration -- especially when you learn that the footage is real, shot at the 1997 Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii.

The mild headache, vomiting and lethargy that are sometimes thought of as an Ecstasy hangover may be a warning sign of swelling in the brain. And one of the usual remedies -- drinking water -- will probably make the condition worse. Perhaps dangerously so. A case report of a young woman treated for hyponatremia -- low levels of sodium in the blood that causes fluid to build in the brain -- was published in the December issue of the Journal of Urban Medicine to alert physicians to the problem.

A 28-year-old woman found dead hours after taking part in a radio station's water-drinking contest died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday. Assistant Sacramento County Coroner Ed Smith said a preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death." Also known as hyponatremia, water intoxication occurs when the body's sodium level falls below normal.

THE last thing I remember is feeling slightly dizzy in the final mile. Until then, everything was great at the Reggae Marathon in Jamaica, where my friend Rita Whitney and I were walking the 26.2-mile course to celebrate my 50th birthday. The next thing I remember is waking up from a coma four days later in the intensive care unit at Duke University Medical Center, with no idea how I got there. I have no memory of completing the race, then collapsing just past the finish line.

Three decades ago, the top warning sounded by race officials was dehydration. Athletes were told to hydrate constantly after several studies found a link between dehydration and a rise in body temperature, which can lead to heatstroke. But now researchers are taking a second look at the risks of drinking too much fluid during exercise.

A newly identified syndrome that most commonly afflicts women after they have undergone routine elective surgery can be treated effectively if diagnosed quickly, researchers say. Brain damage and death can be avoided if the level of sodium in the blood of patients with hyponatremia is raised before they stop breathing, Dr. Allen I. Arieff of the University of California suggests in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Kelly Hall, 34, was in fantastic shape, routinely biking 100 to 200 miles a week in preparation for last year's AIDS Ride from Boston to New York. Usually, she trained with other riders, who made it a point to take food and hydration breaks. But one day last June, Hall decided to ride alone, despite the 95-degree heat. The first 50 miles, around Concord, Mass., were a breeze. "I thought I'd do another 25," she recalls.

The Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, right-hand man to Martin Luther King Jr. during the peak of the civil rights movement, was hospitalized today for a sodium imbalance, his doctor said. Abernathy was in fair condition in the cardiac unit at Crawford Long Hospital of Emory University, said his physician, Dr. Robert Kaufmann. Although Abernathy's heartbeat is being monitored, he is not suffering from a heart problem, the doctor said.