Woman Dies from water intoxication : Dumb radio contest

[AK-74me]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/13/water.intox.ap/index.html

"Hold your wee for a wii"

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A woman who competed in a radio station's contest to see how much water she could drink without going to the bathroom died of water intoxication, the coroner's office said Saturday.

Jennifer Strange, 28, was found dead Friday in her suburban Rancho Cordova home hours after taking part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest in which KDND 107.9 promised a Nintendo Wii video game system for the winner.

"She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said Laura Rios, one of Strange's co-workers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento. "She was crying, and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."

It was not immediately known how much water Strange consumed.

A preliminary investigation found evidence "consistent with a water intoxication death," said assistant Coroner Ed Smith.

John Geary, vice president and marketing manager for Entercom Sacramento, the station's owner, said station personnel were stunned when they heard of Strange's death.

"We are awaiting information that will help explain how this tragic event occurred," he said.

Initially, contestants were handed 8-ounce bottles of water to drink every 15 minutes.

"They were small little half-pint bottles, so we thought it was going to be easy," said fellow contestant James Ybarra of Woodland. "They told us if you don't feel like you can do this, don't put your health at risk."

Ybarra said he quit after drinking five bottles. "My bladder couldn't handle it anymore," he added.

After he quit, he said, the remaining contestants, including Strange, were given even bigger bottles to drink.

"I was talking to her and she was a nice lady," Ybarra said. "She was telling me about her family and her three kids and how she was doing it for her kids."

 

[Pasofever]

Wow I never heard you could die from drinking too much water..

 

[Speedy70]

Wow I never heard you could die from drinking too much water..

Yep, you sure can (obviously). Water is great for you, but drinking way too much can be deadly.

I bet that radio station is feeling pretty bad now.

 

[Pasofever]

Yep, you sure can (obviously). Water is great for you, but drinking way too much can be deadly.

I bet that radio station is feeling pretty bad now.

Sorry to be stupid but what is too much?? It seemed they gave small bottles and went larger but did not say how much...only like 40 ounces with the small bottles..


Its sad..really sad...

 

[AK-74me]

Wow I never heard you could die from drinking too much water..

Yeah I don't think it was common knowledge for me growing up, but I've heard about it for atleast 10 yrs or so now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

 

[signora]

Sorry to be stupid but what is too much?? It seemed they gave small bottles and went larger but did not say how much...only like 40 ounces with the small bottles..


Its sad..really sad...

It occurs when "someone drinks enormous amounts of water and/or loses too much salt from the body in a short time. Drinking an enormous amount of water overwhelms the kidneys and they can't process and eliminate the water fast enough, so the amount of sodium in your blood drops too low." It won't happen to a healthy person who spreads out his or her water intake over the course of the day. This means it is fine to drink 2 gallons of water over 16 hours, but drinking 2 gallons of water all in one sitting can be very bad.

It is sad that this woman lost her life due to drinking too much water. I'm sure there will be a lawsuit now w/the radio station. You would think these Radio Stations would research stunts like this first before asking people to do them. But also it just shows people will do anything without thinking the effects it can cause.

 

[Pasofever]

I read that whole article very interesting..thanks

 

[mainman]

There was a story a while back of a child dying from water intoxication, the child was made to drink water as a punishment for something... I don't remember all of the specifics...

 

[K_Jo]

There was a story a while back of a child dying from water intoxication, the child was made to drink water as a punishment for something... I don't remember all of the specifics...

Remember when you punished me with all those tequila shots?

 

[MJ]

 

[flomaster]

Would have never thought. I remember drinking water when I was in the miltary forever becuase I couldn't put out for a P test. Who knew. The navy corpsman just said keep drinking.

 

[chernmax]

It occurs when "someone drinks enormous amounts of water and/or loses too much salt from the body in a short time. Drinking an enormous amount of water overwhelms the kidneys and they can't process and eliminate the water fast enough, so the amount of sodium in your blood drops too low." It won't happen to a healthy person who spreads out his or her water intake over the course of the day. This means it is fine to drink 2 gallons of water over 16 hours, but drinking 2 gallons of water all in one sitting can be very bad.

It is sad that this woman lost her life due to drinking too much water. I'm sure there will be a lawsuit now w/the radio station. You would think these Radio Stations would research stunts like this first before asking people to do them. But also it just shows people will do anything without thinking the effects it can cause.

...........................Well said................

 

[chernmax]

Would have never thought. I remember drinking water when I was in the miltary forever becuase I couldn't put out for a P test. Who knew. The navy corpsman just said keep drinking.

LOL, and he was right!!!

 

[dustin]

LOL, and he was right!!!

A few years ago I was working night shift and got called/woke up by the shop supervisor in the morning because I was on the pee test list. So I didnt go potty when I was getting ready to go so I could "provide" as soon as I got to work. The pain started about 15 minutes into the drive and by the time I got parked I had to pee so bad I didnt think I was gonna make it across the parking lot into the hangar and just about keeled over gut was hurting so bad.

I ended up walking straight (with a slight limp) to the head to pee halfway. Had a horrible headache the rest of the day.




Come to think of it I think the reason I had to go so bad was because I drank most of a 12 pack the night before.

 

[Lenny]

Wow I never heard you could die from drinking too much water..

This is amazing the you haven't heard of this danger. It happens about every 14-16 months and it makes the national news.

It's probably easy to forget since it's only water. There must have been something wrong with the person.

ANYTHING in excess is dangerous. Even oxygen.

 

[oldman]

As a very young boy I got angry with Mom and to vent I attempted to drown myself by drinking all the water I could. I drank a lot and believe me, you DO NOT want to try it. Besides feeling really bloated you have to spend lots of time in the bathroom. Maybe that's a reason I think drowning is one of the worst ways to die to this day.

 

[Nickel]

As a very young boy I got angry with Mom and to vent I attempted to drown myself by drinking all the water I could. I drank a lot and believe me, you DO NOT want to try it. Besides feeling really bloated you have to spend lots of time in the bathroom. Maybe that's a reason I think drowning is one of the worst ways to die to this day.

When I was pregnant I had an ultrasound scheduled for early in the morning. I had to drink x amount of water before I got there, and I did, all at once (really had no choice, as the appointment was in the morning). I ended up throwing most of it up, and to this day really dislike drinking water.

 

[vraiblonde]

I bet that radio station is feeling pretty bad now.

Why? They didn't do anything. Apparently this was an adult woman who should know when to quit (hint: pain is a good sign it's time to give up).

 

[willie]

Why? They didn't do anything. Apparently this was an adult woman who should know when to quit (hint: pain is a good sign it's time to give up).

They probably feel bad about the huge chance of a lawsuit for their negligence. It doesn't matter that everyone concerned was negligent.

 

[vraiblonde]

People are so stupid these days - no wonder we have all these nanny laws to protect us from ourselves.