Ashley Summers who hailed from Indiana, in the United States has died after consuming multiple bottles of water in a short span.
Our reporter gathered that Summers, a mother of two, was enjoying a visit to Indiana’s Lake Freeman when she told those around her she was feeling dehydrated, light-headed, and felt she couldn’t drink enough water.
After consuming multiple bottles of water in a short span, she went home, where she passed out in her garage.
Her family rushed her to the IU Health Arnett Hospital, but she never regained consciousness, succumbing to water toxicity.
Speaking, her brother, Devon Miller said, “It was a shock to all of us. When they first started talking about water toxicity. It was like this is a thing?”
“Someone said she drank four bottles of water in 20 minutes. I mean, an average water bottle is like 16 ounces, so that was 64 ounces that she drank in a span of 20 minutes. That’s half a gallon. That’s what you’re supposed to drink in a whole day,” he added.
Reacting, Dr Alok Harwani, a physician at the hospital said, “It’s relatively rare. “Now, what we are concerned about is just drinking too much water in a short period of time. Your kidneys can really only clear about a liter of water per hour.”
The doctor said it’s a good idea when spending a lot of time outside in hot weather to continue to eat or drink things with electrolytes, like fruit or Gatorade, in addition to plain water, helping maintain the balance of water and sodium in the blood.
“Things to look out for are if you just start feeling really out of it, very tired, very fatigued.
“Sometimes patients feel like they’re starting to have a mild headache, or are just feeling overall unwell. Those could be early signs of water intoxication.
"So, if you’re really concerned that you or a family member is not acting right and you’re worried about water toxicity, don’t hesitate to call 911, don’t hesitate to go to the [emergency room].” he added.
