A father of three died after drinking too much water, a British court has heard.
Sean O'Donnell, 59, from Dublin, died of "water intoxication" after a routine hospital procedure where he was encouraged to drink plenty of fluids. The condition is known in medicine as hyponatremia and is the same illness that doctors suspect took the life of martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
While drinking enough water is essential for good health, drinking water too quickly can cause a potentially deadly drop in sodium levels in the body.
Sodium is an electrolyte that helps regulate the amount of water in the body's tissues. If levels become too low, water can begin to accumulate in and around the body's cells, causing them to swell.
This can be especially dangerous in the brain, as the organ cannot expand safely due to the tight constraints of the skull.
Experts warn that drinking 1.4 liters of water, about six glasses or just under four cups, within an hour may be enough to cause this condition.
Hyponatremia kills about one in four patients who suffer from it, according to some studies.
Mr. O'Donnell had a routine procedure at St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin in January 2020, as a Dublin court heard, GazetaExpress reports.
The unspecified surgery had gone as planned and after it, O'Donnell was encouraged to drink plenty of water.
However, his water intake was not monitored by staff, and he died at 7pm that same day.
The court heard that he had suffered brain swelling from the excessive amount of fluid he had drunk, which then led to a stroke, cardiac arrest and his eventual death.
St. Vincent's Hospital admitted a breach of duty of care and his family has received 35,000 euros (£29,500) for mental distress, according to the Mirror newspaper.
The exact amount of water that can cause hyponatremia varies from person to person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US advises not to drink more than 1.4 liters of water in an hour.
Critically, this advice applies to all liquids, not just water specifically.
Hyponatremia can also be caused by consuming normal amounts of water in some vulnerable patients.
Hospitalizations have been reported for those who drank seven or eight liters of water in a day — the equivalent of one liter every three hours.
Those suffering from kidney failure are especially at risk as their bodies cannot flush out excess fluids as quickly as they are drinking.
Cases of water intoxication have been reported in athletes, such as David Rogers, a 22-year-old fitness instructor from Milton Keynes, who died after consuming water during the 2007 London Marathon.
Other cases include that of Ashley Summers, a mother of two from Indiana, who, in 2003, died after drinking two liters of water in just 20 minutes.
Researchers also believe that martial arts legend Bruce Lee may have died from drinking too much water. He died at the age of 32 in the summer of 1973 in Hong Kong.
The martial arts master and Hollywood star died of brain swelling, which doctors of the time blamed on his use of painkillers.
But recent research suggests that excessive fluid consumption may have been the cause.
Britain's National Health Service (NHS) recommends that people aim to drink six to eight glasses of fluid each day, around two litres, so that their urine is clear and pale yellow.
Symptoms of hyponatremia include nausea or vomiting, fatigue, muscle weakness or cramps, restlessness or irritability, headache or confusion, and seizures.
Athletes and patients taking certain medications that increase thirst, such as antidepressants, are thought to be at higher risk for hyponatremia.
Patients are usually treated in the hospital with an infusion drip containing sodium solution or medications. /Express newspaper/
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