Water, water, everywhere, so let's all have a drink

January 24, 2007 5:36 AM

Will water kill me too?

My friends and I, when extremely bored, will play card games (such as "Screw Your Neighbor" and "Phase 10") and for a twist, will punish losers by forcing them to drink lots and lots of water and not allowing them to use the bathroom unless they win a game.

I personally have drank 15 cups of water within a one to two hour period.

In light of recent events, I'm curious, how much danger are we putting ourselves in?

I've read a couple of articles on water intoxication, but most focus on infants and athletes.

How much water in how much time is too much? Should we stop playing these crazy games (in a medical standpoint, not a "man you guys should get lives" standpoint)?

posted by carpyful to Health & Fitness (19 answers total)

yes under both standpoints.
posted by empath at 5:43 AM on January 24, 2007

Drink Gatorade instead. You'll be fine.
posted by nineRED at 5:45 AM on January 24, 2007

Gatorade solves the water intoxication problem, but it doesn't solve the "completely screwing up your bladder and/or kidneys" problem. If you're making someone hold it to the point of pain and further, they're doing damage to themselves.
posted by twiggy at 6:03 AM on January 24, 2007

It's stupid to do. On the other hand if your "cup" is an 8 ounce one, your 15 cups = less than half what the woman drank when she died.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 6:08 AM on January 24, 2007

Gatorade does not completely solve the water intoxication problems. It really depends on how much you're drinking, as the concentration of electrolytes in Gatorade is too low to make a significant impact on really large amounts of liquid.

The radio station woman is someone who made the news because of the gross negligence, but there are several people every year who drink too much at running events and suffer hyponatremia. I know a couple, and although they just spent time in the hospital with comas, at least one of them is a bit brain damaged as a result.

I'm not trying to be a fear-monger, but hyponatremia is something that happens with some regularity in situations where people drink a lot of water. How much is too much is a function of sodium concentrations in your body and is not very easily answered.
posted by OmieWise at 6:52 AM on January 24, 2007

Here's a BBC News article about water intoxication. Some deaths attributed to Ecstasy are due to excessive water consumption.
posted by lukemeister at 6:55 AM on January 24, 2007

Realistically, the chances of your doing any real harm are small, but they are significantly greater than zero. I'm sure some clever, bored folks like you and your friends can come up with some other emabarrasing, but safe, ways to punish the losers.

As for the second part of your question, the amount of water needed to cause problems will vary a good bit at different times and among different individuals, depending on such things as weight, starting state of hydration, starting electrolyte levels, and function of the heart and kidneys. Erowid provides a case of 2 gallons being fatal, as well as some links to more info.
posted by TedW at 6:58 AM on January 24, 2007

There's a game called Lightning Reaction where you get a mild electric shock if you're the last to buzz in. Haven't played it myself, but it might be fun for you guys.
posted by andrewzipp at 8:05 AM on January 24, 2007

...if you're looking for a Darwin award, by all means carry on. But seriously yes, and yes.
posted by Wilder at 8:25 AM on January 24, 2007

From The Blue.
posted by The Deej at 8:29 AM on January 24, 2007

INGENIUS SOLUTION FILTER: They can only pee in a cup until they win a game. Ha ha ha!
posted by shownomercy at 8:51 AM on January 24, 2007

Here's a better game:
Take various food liquids from the kitchen. Ketchup, chocolate milk, mustard, chicken broth, pickle juice, salsa, vinegar etc. Anything that's food or drink.

Each hand the winner mixes a shot for the loser using 3 of the liquids.

And the intestinal cramps will make up for the kidney/bladder pain you're missing out on.
posted by Ookseer at 8:56 AM on January 24, 2007

They can only pee in a cup until they win a game.

Um, no. Drinking too much water can cause hyponatremia and potentially death regardless of whether one urinates or not. The problem is diluting one's electrolytes, not simply having too much water in one's body.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:10 AM on January 24, 2007

This water game is definitely too dangerous for you and your friends. I suggest you switch to the choking game immediately before someone gets hurt.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:59 AM on January 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

... or Fluffy Bunny.
posted by The Deej at 10:12 AM on January 24, 2007

The "should we get a life" question is irrelevant but the health question is very serious. This is dangerous and I'm really glad you're asking the question. If you don't feel like stopping, you might consider picturing one of your friends dead and yourself the object of the ensuing life-destoying lawsuit by their family. (I expect that radio station will be going down in the same way.)
posted by lorimer at 10:52 AM on January 24, 2007

In med school we learned a little bit about this; it's a useful way to learn about how to calculate figures involving the kidney. Docs need to be able to do these calculations in folks whose kidneys aren't functioning properly.

You need to drink about 20 liters of pure water in a day, without any salt, in order to overwhelm the functioning of a healthy average adult person's kidneys (for some reason, the calculations are usually performed assuming a 70 kg male). That's assuming the person is starting out from full hydration and normal electrolyte balance; if they're not, it can be less.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:26 PM on January 24, 2007

I'd recommend stopping playing these games, though. Peer pressure can make people do stupid things; you want to avoid getting into that habit.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:28 PM on January 24, 2007

Try looking up the words "hyponatremia" or "polydypsia," you'll get plenty of results.
posted by gramcracker at 7:00 PM on January 24, 2007