Hyderabad: The lower temperatures in winter lead to fevers, cold and cough. The general advice given by doctors under these conditions is to drink plenty of fluids so that the body can deal with loss of liquids. While the advice is medically proven to be good with the body losing fluids through the nose and as sweat during fever, the increased intake could work adversely for those suffering from urinary tract infections, heart diseases, chronic kidney disease, blood sodium abnormality and uncontrolled diabetes. For them, too much water intake leads to intoxication. These patients need to take liquids in specified quantities.
In a recent case, additional intake of water increased the intensity of the urinary tract infection in a woman suffering from it. In UTI, the patient is supposed to have three to four litres of water a day. The patient ended up taking six litres of water and experienced severe abdominal pain after which she had to be rushed to emergency care. Dr K. Srinivas, a urologist, said, “Drinking too much water leads to abnormally lowering the sodium levels in the body. When this happens the water intoxicates patients and it can lead to seizures, coma and death.”
He said the condition takes at least 48 hours to develop. “During that time, the body gives signals in the form of pain, tremors and neurological disabilities which means there is an urgent need to take the patient to a hospital,” he said. Heart patients have to ensure that the water they consume is adequate, as excess water can aggravate their condition. Apart from plain water there are sufficient fluids in fruits, vegetables and cooked food. All these add to the fluid level in the body.
Dr Hari Kishan B, a senior general physician, told this newspaper, “For chronic kidney patients, excess fluid enters the lungs and can create breathing problems. For healthy patients who do not have any co-morbid conditions it is important to consume sufficient water to fight viral and bacterial infections.”
