To speak of hyperhydration is to refer to a term that is not common, even among doctors. At the other extreme, dehydration is a well-known condition.
Well, hyperhydration is the opposite of dehydration. It is also defined as intoxication with water, as if it were a poison. And is that any excess substance becomes toxic to the body.
Although it is a rare, uncommon disorder, it can occur among athletes of long marathons and kidney patients. In people with good kidney function it is very difficult to reach this state, since the filtration and production of urine prevent it.
In terms of numbers and quantities, a healthy adult would have to exceed 24 liters of water intake per day for the kidneys to be exceeded in their capacity. As we can imagine, under normal conditions, it is strange.
Causes of the disorder
As we already anticipated, there are specific situations that favor hyperhydration. One of these situations is the practice of ultra-endurance sports, such as marathons, for example. Athletes overhydrate due to the fear of dehydration, and this can lead to an overcoming of filtering levels in the face of kidneys that change their physiology for sport.
There is a psychiatric condition called psychogenic polydipsia, in which the person ingests water at all times, motivated by unfounded fears. They constitute another risk group for hyperhydration, especially in times of acute crisis.
Kidney patients are exposed to hyperhydration due to the malfunction of urine filtration. Even with a controlled intake, the maladjustment of the renal glomeruli can lead to the accumulation of internal water.
Finally, we will mention inappropriate vasopressin secretion. Also called antidiuretic hormone , it is a substance that the pituitary makes to stop urine production when necessary. If vasopressin is abundant, the order to the kidneys is to retain water.
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