By Abdulkareem Haruna

I was reading an article on the platform of Radio Nigeria recently about this topic and it got me thinking. The short article says of course water is very important for us to live. But drinking too much water, especially very quickly, can make you sick. This sickness is called water intoxication or hyponatremia. It happens when you drink too much water in a short time, and this makes the level of salt (sodium) in your blood go down too low. When this happens, the cells in your body can swell up.
When you drink too much water, the amount of salt in your blood becomes too low. This causes the water level in your body to be unbalanced and can affect all the cells in your body.
You might feel sick to your stomach, throw up, or your stomach might feel full and tight (bloated). If it is very bad, you could get confused, have a seizure (like a fit), your brain could get damaged, you could go into a coma (like a very deep sleep), and you could even die.
Right now, the weather is very hot. Because of this, many people might drink too much water trying to stay cool, and this can be dangerous.
The weather people in Nigeria (NiMET) have already told us that the hot season, which is usually from February to April, will bring very high temperatures, wet air (humidity), and dry air, especially in the northern part of Nigeria. Health experts say that this kind of weather can cause serious health problems.
How Much Water Should You Drink Every Day?
To stay healthy and have enough water in your body, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that women should drink about 2.7 liters of water each day, and men should drink about 3.7 liters. You should drink this water throughout the whole day, not all at once. Experts say that if you drink too much water at one time, it can be too much for your kidneys. Your kidneys can only handle about 0.8 to 1 liter of water in one hour.
What Experts Say About Drinking Too Much Water
A doctor at the Federal Teaching Hospital in Abakaliki, Dr. Nnenna Otta, said that athletes, people who do very hard work, and children can get water intoxication more easily.
Dr. Otta also explained how this sickness can be treated.
She said, “Children can get water intoxication more easily because their kidneys are still growing, and it might be hard for them to control too much water in their bodies. They also tend to drink water very often, even when they are not thirsty. People taking care of children should make sure they drink the right amount of water and should not force them to drink too much.”
“For mild cases, we just need to drink less water and let the kidneys fix the balance. But for very bad cases, we need to put salt (sodium) directly into their body through a drip (IV infusion) to slowly bring the salt level back to normal.”
“It can also help to give them medicine that makes them pass more water (diuretics) to get rid of the extra water in their body,” she explained.
Also, a brain doctor (Neurologist) in Abuja, Dr. Cyril Okpata, said that it is not common to get low salt levels just from drinking too much water. But it can happen, especially to people who have mental health problems and feel like they have to drink a lot of water all the time.
Dr. Okpata explained, “Low salt levels are usually linked to injuries to the brain, like after a stroke or other brain problems. It is rare for someone to get low salt levels just from drinking water, especially when it is hot.”