Hold Your Wee for a Wii - Water Intoxication Death

In September, I posted a Blog called "Dangerous Games", about the risky behaviors of teenagers. In the Blog, I mentioned water intoxication as a potentially dangerous activity. Now, in Sacramento last week, a young mother of three died from drinking excessive amounts of water in a radio contest. She was trying to win a Wii for her family. The goal of the contest was to drink bottles and bottles of water and to see how long you can hold out before urinating. The winner would take home the Wii by not going to wee.

Mrs. Strange did not win the contest (she came in second), but she lost her life. Shortly after the contest, she collapsed in her home and died of hyponatremia, a fatal electrolyte imbalance where the body is critically low in salt. A husband lost his wife; her three children, including a one year old, lost their mother. Today, it was announced that the radio show, the DJs, and eight other staff members lost their jobs over this tragic incident, proving once again that it is not just teenagers that play dangerous games.

Just this month, several members of a Chico State fraternity were sentenced in the tragic death of a young student pledge who also died of water intoxication by drinking excessively from a five gallon jug and then being forced to exercise. What made this incident a bit different was the illegal hazing that was involved. Mrs. Strange signed a waiver for the contest, probably unaware of the risks. During this aired contest, a local nurse called the radio station to warn them, but to no avail. Even the DJs themselves openly (albeit, briefly) discussed the possible risks before the contest began. I don't listen to that station, nor did I hear the show, but I would have driven down there to try and stop it had I known.

When I was an 18-year-old (stupid) college freshman, I played a dangerous game called Water Poker. For each hand that we would lose, we had to drink a small cup of water. As the evening progressed, we all teetered on the edge of hyponatremia. I still remember that night; staggering to the bathroom, disoriented and sick. This could have happened to me or one my friends. We didn't know the dangerous game we were playing. As little as a half-gallon of water (two quarts) in a single setting has the potential of killing you.

When you drink huge amounts of water, you flush out sodium, potassium, and other essential electrolytes. Kidneys overload. Cell membranes rupture from osmotic pressure. The brain swells with edema. Headaches, nausea, disorientation, and dizziness occur, followed by seizures and coma. Death can soon follow.

What next? Will radio stations offer "chicken" contests? Perhaps two drivers head for each other at high speed. The loser is the one the swerves out of the way. Or, how about who can hang the out a twentieth story window without falling? Of course, there are always drinking contests. The winner gets a liver transplant.

Water is the elixir of life. Humans are predominantly bags of salt water, held in by skin and connective tissue. Without water, we die. Without water, our toilets would not work, and our personal hygiene would be in serious jeopardy.

When water is abused or disrespected, it can kill. Water can end your life through drowning. Water can carry us away on a rip tide or float us out to sea on a raft. On a road, water becomes a major hazard to safe driving. When boiled, it can scald our skin. When frozen as an icicle, it can put your eye out. When ingested in excess, water can end a life and create unbelievable sadness.

Without water, we could not cry for the endless victims of Dangerous Games.

Related Topics:

• Teens with Food Allergies Take Risks
• Fewer Teens Report Risky Behavior

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