A Monticello, Indiana, mom of two has died after drinking too much water too quickly in a rare, but fatal case of “water toxicity.”
“They were out on the boat all weekend long,” her older brother, Devon Miller, told the news station. “She loved being on the water. She loved being on the lake.”
On Tuesday, July 4, Summers had reportedly felt dehydrated, saying she had a headache and felt lightheaded.
That’s when she began drinking a lot of water — in a short period of time.
Ashley Summers/Facebook
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“Someone said she drank four bottles of water in that 20 minutes. I mean, an average water bottle is like 16 ounces, so that was 64 ounces that she drank in the span of 20 minutes. That’s half a gallon,” said Miller.
According tothe Mayo Clinic, women should consume about 2.7 liters of fluids a day — about 91 ounces — with 20% of that coming from food.
When Summers got home, she passed out in her garage — and never regained consciousness.
“My sister, Holly, called me, and she was just an absolute wreck. She was like ‘Ashley is in the hospital. She has brain swelling, they don’t know what’s causing it, they don’t know what they can do to get it to go down, and it’s not looking good,'” said Miller.
Too much water in a short period of time can cause sodium levels to drop to fatal levels.Getty Images
Getty Images
The cause: Hyponatremia — also known as water toxicity, which occurs when the amount of sodium in your blood is “abnormally low” according to theMayo Clinic.
“Drinking too much water [can] cause the sodium in your body to become diluted. When this happens, your body’s water levels rise, and your cells begin to swell,” the Mayo Clinic adds.
And for Summers, drinking too much water proved fatal.
While rare, water toxicity can be fatal. TheCleveland Cliniccautions that some underlying medical conditions, and consuming alcohol — particularly beer — can increase your risk of it.
Also called “water intoxication,” theNation Institute of Healthnoted that “early detection is crucial to prevent severe hyponatremia, which can lead to seizures, coma, and death.”
TheHarvard School of Public Healthnoted that while athletes and those with kidney problems are more prone to hyponatremia, “women and children are also more susceptible to hyponatremia because of their smaller body size.”
It’s what happened to TikTokerMichelle Fairburn, who recently saidshe ended up hospitalizedfrom “drinking an excessive amount of water” while trying the 75 Hard challenge.
To complete the challenge, every day — for 75 consecutive days — participants must follow a strict diet of choice, complete two 45-minute workouts (one of which must be outdoors), drink one gallon of water, read 10 pages of a book, and take a progression picture.
“I have severe sodium deficiency, which actually can be fatal," she said in aTikTok video. The cause? “Drinking a crap ton of water.”
But while hyponatremia can be fatal, it’s rare — and experts don’t advise skipping water when you’re sweaty and thirsty.
“For prolonged sweating lasting several hours, sports drinks with balanced electrolytes are another option to replace salt lost in sweat,” theCDC recommends.
A good rule of thumb? “Drink to your thirst," Joseph Verbalis, chairman of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center, toldScientific American.
“It’s the best indicator.”
source: people.com
