Water Can Kill?

Questions

1. During periods of intense activity, your body releases an antidiuretic hormone called vasopressin that causes the body to retain water (by decreasing the amount of water that is expelled in urine). Why does this make endurance athletes particularly vulnerable to developing hyponatremia?

Endurance athletes are particularly vulnerable to developing hyponatremia due to the fact that they are at a greater risk of cell’s swelling and bursting, especially when athletes are losing more electrolytes, and they consume more water; so this inevitably causes a build-up of water putting your cells in a hypotonic environment. Thus the attraction towards the greatest concentration of solutes and water will cause water to enter the body’s cells at an alarmingly fast rate, and symptoms of hyponatremia will occur. Athletes though are more vulnerable to this condition because they drink more water, and as they sweat they are losing electrolytes (sodium ions) which are found mainly outside of the body’s cells; electrolytes are not particularly found inside of the actual cells; so when the body loses these necessary electrolytes, a hypotonic environment is created outside of cells. Then water will rush into the cell causing it to swell and burst, along with brain cells. Extra water in the body would put that athlete into an even greater danger since they lose solute concentration outside of the cell, and the more water being retained into the body, will cause cells to swell even faster. A build-up of water occurs.

2. What might put desert-dwellers in danger of developing hyponatremia? How can they avoid this danger?

Desert-dwellers may be put in danger of developing hyponatremia because as they sweat, (sweating will be even greater in the desert) people or animals will lose essential electrolytes; thus causing a build-up of water enter the cells at a faster rate. The body’s cells will have an increase of water entering them, since the outside environment is...