A local radio station in Sacramento, California recently held a “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” contest that challenged participants to drink as much water as they could without going to the bathroom. One of the contestants, a woman named Jennifer Strange, 28 years old and the mother of three, died after participating in the contest in order to win a Nintendo Wii for her children.
The coroner listed her cause of death as water intoxication.
Water Intoxication
Strange complained of a bad headache to her supervisor and left work early Friday just a few hours after participating in the contest. At this time, there is no information on exactly how much water Ms. Strange consumed. The preliminary investigation has found evidence consistent with the cause of death being water intoxication.
The radio station personnel and other contestants who took part in the “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” were stunned. The contestants began by drinking eight ounce bottles of water every fifteen minutes and told not to continue if they didn’t feel up for it. One contestant described 5 rounds of this, meaning the contestants drank about 40 ounces in an hour and fifteen minutes. Those who remained after the first 5 rounds were then given bigger bottles to drink.
So how could water have been the cause of Jennifer Strange’s death? It’s important to understand how water intoxication works. Also known as water poisoning or hyperhydration, water intoxication can cause a fatal disturbance in the brain when the normal balance of electrolytes are pushed out of safe limits by too rapid consumption of large quantities of water.
Water intoxication has been listed a cause of death in fraternity hazings including one where a 21 year old student drank huge amounts of water while performing exercise in a freezing cold basement. He died of heart failure. Other water intoxication deaths included a Boston Marathon runner and a Washington D.C. police officer.
The body requires water for survival, but too much of any good thing can have a detrimental effect on the body. You have to remember that your body receives hydration from a number of sources and drinking too much, too fast can create a toxic effect on your biology.
My thoughts and my prayers go out to Jennifer Strange’s family and children today.
For more information on water intoxication, check out an Too Much Water?
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