"Only the dose makes the poison" is the anthem of toxicology. The most innocuous substances can be deadly in high doses. Including water. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as water poisoning. And it can be lethal. If body fluids become excessively diluted, sodium concentrations in the blood drop dramatically. Sodium is an essential mineral in the body and plays a critical role in the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain and in muscles. Our body regulates the concentration of sodium in the blood by moving water in and out of the blood. If the sodium concentration is high, water moves from cells into the blood increasing blood pressure. As water moves from brain cells into the blood, the brain actually shrinks and confusion and seizures can result. If the sodium concentration is low, the reverse happens. Water moves out of the blood into cells. This can be disastrous to the brain since the absorption of water by cells causes the brain to swell, leading to lethargy, loss of consciousness and possibly even death.
Unfortunately, this isn't only theory. Excessive water consumption has killed! In a truly disturbing case, the parents of four year old Cassandra Killpack were charged with child abuse and murder in Utah. The couple had adopted the child and felt that she wasn't bonding appropriately with her new parents. They claim to have received some misguided advice from some "alternative" therapist about how to help the child "through an extreme emotional problem." At least that is what they built their defense around, essentially accusing the therapist of malpractice. The Killpacks say they were told to tie Cassandra's hands behind her back and force her to drink huge quantities of water. This was supposed to take the child back to infancy, when she only drank liquids, so she could be reprogrammed. But the prosecution didn’t buy this argument and maintained that such hydrotherapy was never recommended. The parents were simply punishing the child for having stolen some Kool Aid from a sibling. What really happened isn't clear. Was it some alternative therapy gone awry, or was it just abusive parents punishing a child? The jury came to a bizarre conclusion. Mrs. Killpack was found guilty of murder but her husband was found to be innocent. Unfortunately what is clear is that Cassandra died from water intoxication.
Joe Schwarcz