Is Your ‘Emotional Support Water Bottle’ Causing Overhydration?

(CNN) — Whether it’s the latest prized Stanley cup or the 10-year-old plastic bottle you never go anywhere without, the “emotional support water bottle” is stuck by our sides and never goes anywhere.

Word for the personal care accessory has been circulating on social media for years, with the hashtag #emotionalsupportwaterbottle appearing in more than 18,000 posts on TikTok and thousands more on Instagram. The motto seems to embody what most people feel about their faithful companion who never leaves their sight.

Always having a sip of water by your side can be great for reminding yourself to stay hydrated, but sometimes making an attachment to a water bottle can lead to a fixation on hydration that can have serious health consequences if carried too far. to medical experts.

A nephrologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. “It is not easy to overload the kidneys,” said Kambiz Kalantari. “But there are situations where people are obsessed with drinking water. … We’re talking about 10, 15 liters overflowing their kidneys.

Here are tips for measuring how much water you need to put in your glass and what can happen when your hydration habits go too far.

Achieving overhydration is difficult but possible

How much water a person should drink in a day is an age-old question that has no single answer: it depends on factors such as a person’s health, size, location and types of activities during the day.

The National Academy of Medicine recommends 3.7 liters of water per day for men and 2.7 liters for women, representing water consumption from all foods and beverages during the day, while many people follow the general advice of drinking 8 glasses of water a day, according to the Mayo Clinic. Easy to remember and usually keeps one at a good level of hydration. The clinic adds that some people may need to drink less, while others need more.

There’s no need to force yourself to drink more water than you’re thirsty for, or carry a water bottle with you, unless you plan to exercise or spend time outside in the heat, which can cause fluid loss through sweat. Kalantari said.

If a person drinks too much water, in most cases, the kidneys excrete the excess fluid, causing the person to urinate a lot, Kalantari said. If the kidneys are unable to excrete excess water, whether due to a chronic condition such as kidney disease or simply because of an overloaded state, problems arise and in severe cases may require a trip to the hospital.

There are also limits to the amount of fluid excreted by the kidneys if a person has not eaten enough food that day, Kalantari said.

For most people, drinking enough water to fill two 1.2-liter water bottles in 10 hours will create a safe range to avoid dehydration and overhydration, says Cedars-based internal medicine specialist Dr. Ryan Bober said. Sinai in Los Angeles

“If you start to get to the point where you don’t really have a thirst mechanism, you feel like you’re straining the remaining ounces in the bottle, then you start having problems with how you can easily swallow water and then You’re pushed into the overhydration range,” Bober said.

Water poisoning

Water intoxication, also called water intoxication, occurs when there is so much fluid that excess fluid cannot be removed through sweat or urine and causes hyponatremia, a condition in which sodium levels in the blood are below the normal range. .

In addition to excessive urination, symptoms of water intoxication include irritability, lethargy, more easily distracted or confused, vomiting, nausea and, in most severe cases, seizures and coma or even death, Bober said.

Usually mild cases of overhydration (which is caused by drinking too much water in a short period of time or drinking too much water over a period of a few days, such as 2 to 3 liters an hour or 10 liters a day) will disappear. . It resolves once a person stops drinking as much water, as the kidneys will excrete the excess within a few days, Bober said.

Actress Brooke Shields experienced this condition in September when she suffered a seizure after drinking too much water. Shields went to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with low blood sodium levels and a doctor prescribed a treatment plan.

According to a March 2022 study, researchers also theorized that actor and martial artist Bruce Lee died of hyponatremia. The report cited the actor’s “chronic high fluid intake,” marijuana use that can increase thirst, and prescription drugs and alcohol consumption that can affect the kidneys.

Benefits of Staying Hydrated

Staying hydrated is important for bodily functions, such as urination and the digestive system, and the circulatory system, which pumps blood to the heart. Hydration can also help you feel more energetic, improve your mood, and strengthen your attention span and short-term memory.

Often times, drinking more water is a weight loss goal. In moderation, drinking water before a meal helps fill the stomach and makes people feel fuller and, in turn, eat less, Bober said.

Drinking water when thirsty can activate dopamine-related pathways, which give people a pleasurable response, Bober said. But without moderation, an over-reliance on chemical dosages that make us feel good can be a factor that increases water intake and overhydration. And in situations that can seriously impact mental health, such as social isolation or chronic stress and anxiety, the pathways can change in such a way that the pleasure response can be activated even at levels close to overhydration, he added.

Emotional support water bottles have their benefits, but drinking water should also be proportionate and reusable bottles should be cleaned regularly, Bober said.