Is there such thing of drinking to much water?

[Emiliano1983]

Is it wrong to drink 96 onces of water a day?

[888mom]

It depends on how much you weigh.  I forget what the ratio is, but I'm overweight by a lot.  The doctor told me to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day if I want to lose weight because I weigh 220 pounds and I shoudl weight 130.  Also how much I drink also depends on if I'm thirsty and need more... you need more water if it's very dry air (like if you live in Arizona and it's hot and arid your sweat will evaporate), if it's hot, if you are exercising and sweating, etc.  If you are just sitting around doing nothing, you probably won't be as thirsty, so when I sit around I drink about 8 glasses, and when  I'm more active I drink around 10.  I think 12 glasses is where you have to start worrying, even if you are overweight.  12 would be too much for most anyone.   I'm not a doctor, and I'm trying to remember what I was told, so I'd check with your own doctor about it.

[mearns]

I was trying to lose weight and was "forcing" myself to drink 3 litres of water per day.  I went for routine eye test and they found pressure and asked if I drank a lot - I explained what I was doing and they asked me to come back the next week and to just drink normally.  On second test I was normal.   Optician said it would not do me harm to continue drinking because when I stopped for the night the pressure would go down - thus I would not do permanent damage.  But I thought otherwise - I just drink normally now - when I am thirsty.

[SL345]

In a word, yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes can also suffer from water intoxication. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes. From the cell's point of view, water intoxication produces the same effects as would result from drowning in fresh water. Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days. The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day. You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to intaking an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications.

[LukeL]

the 64 oz is the total amount of water that comes from food and liquids which don't contain caffiene or alcohol (as they are diuertics) If you are urinating pure water, or very clear urine you are probably drinking too much.

It can throw off your electrolytes, but in a healthy person this is usually very difficult, unless you sweat a ton (run a marathon) or drink gallons of water

[Barb925]

I have never heard of that.  I know it is recommended that you drink 64ozs of liquids a day. It can be coffee, but they stress more water than anything.

Barb