How does water intoxication occur and how can you prevent it?

Please note: this article contains informational content only!

We all know the stories about festival visitors who are taken away by ambulance after using XTC. Ecstasy is prohibited in the Netherlands. These users regularly suffer from water intoxication. Read here how water intoxication occurs and how you can prevent this from ever happening to you.

The human body

To understand how water intoxication can occur, it is important to understand how our body generally deals with fluid. Every body consists largely of water, but the proportion in which this occurs in our body differs per person. Roughly speaking, we can say that the man's body consists of 60% water and that of the woman 55%. A person's fat percentage also has an influence; Fat cells contain little water. In an overweight person, the percentage of water will therefore be lower. The fluid that is in our cells (intracellular
fluid) represents 2/3 of the total water in our body. This fluid contains salt, potassium, enzymes and other organic molecules. The remaining 1/3 of our water is between the cells in the blood (extracellular fluid). This liquid contains a lot of sodium. Our body is designed to keep our water balance in balance. Breathing, sweating and urination create a shortage that must be constantly replenished. In response, the brain releases a thirst stimulus. This is a beautiful collaboration between body and brain, which we can rely on in many cases.

How does water intoxication occur?

Ecstasy is known to put consumers at increased risk of water intoxication. Ecstasy is specifically talked about because when used it has a antidiuretic hormone (ADH) stimulates. This hormone is considered the “anti-pee hormone”. With other stimulant drugs such as amphetamine variants and cocaine this doesn't happen. The use of XTC causes the hormone to be produced strongly. As a result, the body retains more water than the kidneys excrete. Users regularly experience that they do not have to urinate or only have to urinate very little at a festival. The body therefore retains more fluid, but there is also a second factor that can increase the risk of water intoxication. Under the influence you get warm and soon a very dry mouth develops. This makes you feel like you're dehydrated, even when you're not. A false feeling of thirst arises, which makes you tempted to drink extra.

In addition, we often feel that it is wise to drink extra, because we are aware of the dangers of overheating when using XTC. Drinking too much water can cause an imbalance between water and sodium in our body. The sodium level in our blood decreases. This results in cells absorbing more water and causing them to swell. This also applies to our brain cells. When brain cells absorb too much fluid, this can be very dangerous; the brain cells press against nerves, causing a headache.

This is how you recognize water poisoning

These are the first symptoms of water intoxication
recognize:
- Headache
– Decreased consciousness
– Confusion
– General malaise
– Nausea
– Dizziness
– Disruption of walking
– Muscle cramps
– Fatigue and sleep tendencies
The confusing thing is that these symptoms can also occur with diabetes
overheating.

This is how you can prevent water poisoning

– Monitor your fluid balance yourself and do not rely on signals from your body. The thirst stimulus and lack of urination is not reliable.
– Do not drink more than one glass per hour. You can satisfy your thirst with an ice cream.
– Try to consume salt/sodium rich foods during the day. Think of fries, chips and pizza. Also think about this the day after.
– Consumers sometimes cannot get a bite down their throat while using Ecstasy. Ingesting salt-rich food is then a challenge. You can solve this with a cup of broth or Cup-a-Soup.
– Alternate effort and relaxation and make sure your temperature does not rise too much.

Again, XTC is prohibited in the Netherlands. We therefore advise against the use of prohibited substances.

Source: oa Wikipedia & Psyconautwiki