Posted on 01/14/2007 9:39:48 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
(CBS13) SACRAMENTO A radio contest participant may have died of water intoxication, a press release from the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office said Saturday. The woman was discovered unresponsive by relatives in her home in Rancho Cordova Friday afternoon.
28-Year-Old Jennifer Lea Strange was declared dead by Sacramento Metro Fire Paramedics. Strange had reportedly competed in a contest held by local radio station 107.9 ‘The End’ earlier Friday that required contestants to drink large amounts of water without being able to go to the bathroom.
The preliminary investigation revealed no life threatening medical conditions to explain her sudden death. While the preliminary findings of the autopsy are consistent with water intoxication, the coroner says the final cause of death will not be available for several months.
I drank water once, it stunk!
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
No, I don't think they are all smart or educated. I just think they should be. But then, I think anyone who works at McDonalds should know the difference between catsup and mustard. Of course, that's not always the case.
I never drink water; fish make love in it.W. C. Fields
"You assume she wasn't already low in electrolytes. Do we know her medical history, medications?"
Yes, I am assuming that, since I don't have any other information to go on. And yes, this kind of contest is irresponsible. I wonder if they did a physical on any of the contestants before they began? A simple chemistry panel would have been a good start, but I'm betting that all they did was get a waiver signed.
"...Thanks for your spirited opinion, but I'll stick with the rudiments and what Dr Baden said.....he is, after all, a pathologist..."
Hey, I'll stick with Dr Baden too, if he/she says that this is the result of an actual post-mortem exam and/or autopsy. It was the fact that the article stated:
"While the preliminary findings of the autopsy are consistent with water intoxication, the coroner says the final cause of death will not be available for several months."
If I seem skeptical, it's merely because even the coroner admits that the results aren't final, and the contest was one where peeing was not allowed.
I've seen water intoxication several times, though never a fatality from it, and in every case the amounts of water that were drunk were massive, and over several hours, and involved multiple trips to the bathroom.
That was how these folks were discovered in the first place.
In each case, these were psych patients, committed to an institution, and were using water to get high.
YOU should stick with things you can actually grasp. A simple but very similar scenario is flushing the cooling system on a car.........you continually add water after establishing an exit point......eventually the discharge isn't rusty-brown.....nice and clear, yes?
Now substitute sodium and other electrolytes for the rusty-brown in the car scenario...............when the discharge from the flush operation has depletet sodium/electrolytes sufficiently, the events comprising the actual dying process begin.
Get it yet?
BTW.....water still ain't toxic.....
According to a doctor on the radio this morning who is familiar with this kind of thing, he said the public should be warned that drinking as little as 1 gallon in one straight go can kill a person as all the salt and electrolytes are drained from the body and the bodies chemistry is immediately knocked out of whack and shuts down all the vital organs bringing on a sudden fatal heart attack. He was questioned several times by the shows host about the amount of water and each time he said 1 gallon is all it takes if drunk all at once.
"..YOU should stick with things you can actually grasp..."
Well, OK. I have 2 separate health-related degrees (medical technology, nursing), with over 25 years divided experience in both medical lab chemistry, and critical/intensive care/psych nursing (psych is my most recent). I'm pretty sure my feeble little mind can grasp this.
"...Now substitute sodium and other electrolytes for the rusty-brown in the car scenario..."
Yes, I understand. Now, imagine that during the cooling system flush, you keep the drain-cock closed, and none of the flush is allowed to drain out. How long before your rusty brown water turns clear?
Get it yet?
"BTW.....water still ain't toxic....."
OK, define toxin. When a person becomes "water toxic," it's because they washed away so many electrolytes, by drinking too much water. If the semantic use of the phrase bothers you, then think up a better way to describe it.
your nonsensical crap bores me......water is not toxic, and is not an intoxicant.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1768955/posts?page=16#16
Hyponatremia is nasty; the armed services have problems with it during hard training in hot weather. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_200105/ai_n8936086/pg_5
This gal could have had somewhat low Sodium levels to begin with, or simply diluted what was there. As I understand it, it is the level of Sodium that is important, not the total amount. Some people are more predisposed to this than others.
bump for later reading.
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