Symptoms and risks of overhydration

Much is said about the serious risks to our body when we are subjected to prolonged periods of dehydration, however, the water balance of our body takes into account a series of factors that are not commonly taken into account in their entirety. When we refer to water balance, we are referring to the compensation that must exist between the water we lose during the day and the water we put into our body. When the amount of water we put in is equivalent to the amount we lose, our balance is adequate. If the amount of water we take in is less than the amount we lose, our body becomes dehydrated, with all the consequences that this entails.

Although they are very rare, there can also be consequences of breaking our water balance due to excessive water consumption, this is what is called overhydration, consuming more water than is lost. To further understand what this phenomenon is and what are its consequences and most common manifestations, we will be conducting the following guide, where we will observe some of the symptoms and risks of it.

What is overhydration?

Overhydration, as we said before, is the phenomenon of consuming more water than our body loses. In principle, this imbalance in our body's water levels would also affect the water balance and could have unpleasant consequences for our health. The truth is that, in practice, overhydration is very difficult to appreciate, since our body has highly efficient mechanisms to eliminate excess water from our body.

This does not mean that there are no cases where overhydration develops, but it will depend a lot on the conditions, habits and particular characteristics of the subject. It is not enough that the water we drink is slightly higher than necessary, this would be discarded through urine, sweating, among other mechanisms for this. Our body can tolerate several liters of excess water per day without any problem, so an average person should not be exposed to overhydration.

In what type of people is overhydration more common?

Overhydration has been observed, above all, in high-performance athletes. These people usually have long training days, longer than someone who is exercising in a more amateur way. When training for long hours, without prolonged rest, it is normal for thirst to manifest itself repeatedly. This thirst motivates the athlete to drink water constantly, while their electrolytes continue to be depleted. The water drunk can become so high that overhydration is experienced as a result of over-consumption.

Symptoms of overhydration