Many symptoms of overhydration are similar to dehydration, but it is easy to differentiate between the two depending on how much water you drink in a day.
We must drink water to keep ourselves fit and healthy. No matter what health condition you suffer from, drinking water will help you fight against it. Water helps boost the immune system, clear your skin and many more things. Even though there are various benefits of drinking water, drinking too much can also be a problem. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition called hyponatremia – a low level of sodium in the blood which may result from excess fluid in the body. This condition may even lead to vomiting, fatigue, headaches and sometimes even death.
Although overhydration is not a common occurrence it can happen if you outdrink what your body can defecate. Here are some signs that you could be drinking too much water.
Drinking Water When Not Thirsty
“You should drink 3-4 litres of water daily” -- you see this written somewhere and you start drinking as much water as you can in a day without keeping a count of how much you have drank. When you force yourself into drinking more water than your body requires, it shoots up your sodium levels and you get overhydrated.
Also Read: Are You Making These 5 Hydration Mistakes? Tips To Avoid Them
Clear Urine
When you drink a healthy amount of water, the colour of your urine should be light yellow. Some people think that clear urine is a sign of good health but it is not. Clear urine indicates that you are drinking too much water. Drinking 8-10 glasses a day is enough to keep yourself hydrated.
Urinating A Lot
Do you find yourself rushing to the washroom to pee every 20-30 minutes? Sometimes, even in the middle of the night? Chances are you are overhydrated, especially if you pee more than 10 times in a day.
Headaches
Drinking too much water leads to low sodium levels in the body and causes the cells to swell and grow in number. It does the same to the brain which makes the brain push against the skull and causes throbbing pain in the head.
Discoloured or Swollen Hands, Lips and Feet
Excess water in the bloodstream may lead to discolouration or swelling of the lips, hands or feet. Drinking more water than your body needs will create an imbalance of sodium in your body, leading to swollen hands, feet or lips. You should immediately cut back on your water intake if you notice such a symptom.
Also Read: Wave Goodbye To Swollen Hands In The Morning By Learning Its Causes And Treatment
Fatigue
Being tired all the time can be a symptom of an underlying disease like chronic kidney disease. Your kidneys help excrete the excess water from your body and when you drink too much water, your kidneys get exhausted and is unable to perform its function properly. It also impacts how you feel – mostly tired or fatigued.
Weak Muscles
Too much water makes your electrolytes drop, leading to unwanted symptoms such as muscle cramps. You can prevent such symptoms by reducing your water intake. You can replace a few glasses of water with coconut water which is full of electrolytes.
Nausea
When the kidneys are unable to get rid of the excess water, it starts to get collected in the body and causes symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Drinking too less or too much can both be dangerous. So, it is vital that you drink 8-10 glasses a day – no more no less – to avoid developing any health diseases.
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