Asked by: Medium Atomic Weight via Twitter
If you drink more water than your kidneys can remove (approximately one litre an hour), the concentration of sodium and other electrolytes in your blood begins to drop. Beyond a certain point, your cells will uncontrollably absorb water by osmosis and swell up. In the brain this increases the pressure against your skull, which leads to headache, confusion, vomiting and (ironically) thirst. If it isn’t treated promptly, this progresses to seizures, brain damage and death.
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Authors
Luis trained as a zoologist, but now works as a science and technology educator. In his spare time he builds 3D-printed robots, in the hope that he will be spared when the revolution inevitably comes.
