Drinking more fluids... Or less?
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The first thing that doctors recommend during a cold is a bed rest and plenty of drink. But if with bed regimen it seems everything is clear, then a copious drink can cause some disagreement. According to British experts, too much liquid can cause negative consequences for the body.
Scientists believe that the concept of abundant drinking is too blurry, and excessive amounts of water, especially during illness or existing chronic diseases, lead to the washing away of sodium from the body.
During a cold, doctors usually prescribe a generous drink, antiviral drugs, vitamins, but British experts said that recommendations for a plentiful drink should be more clearly pronounced. In England there was a case when a woman, following the recommendations of a doctor, almost died. When a woman caught a cold, the therapist appointed her the appropriate treatment and recommended drinking more fluids.
To quickly go on an amendment and cleanse the body of toxins, the woman drank several liters a day. But over time, the woman not only recovered, but also began to feel much worse, there was weakness, nausea, speech became confused. After the examination, it was found that the woman's body lacked sodium and was diagnosed with hyponatremia. Experts note that with this diagnosis, the number of deaths reaches 30%.
Hyponatremia may occur due to unregulated fluid intake or endocrine problems. In the body there is a metabolic disorder, pressure is lowered, the vessels begin to lose fluid that penetrates into the extravascular space and leads to puffiness. The person in fact begins to suffer from dehydration. But scientists note that it is necessary to clearly understand what volumes are involved when physicians recommend drinking more liquid. More than 3 liters of water per day, of course, can disrupt the body and cause the washing of sodium.
Doctors recommend drinking more fluids during illness, however, this does not mean that you need to drink a bucket of water per day, but you do not need to limit the use of liquid, there should be a golden mean in everything. Doctors say that there were no cases when a cold man drank so much water that hyponatremia developed (the case of the Englishwoman can be considered exceptional). First of all, for this to happen, you need a long time to drink more than 3 liters of fluid daily. But practically all patients claim that it is problematic to drink 2-3 liters of water per day, and this amount of liquid helps to remove only the products of the decay of the vital activity of viruses from the body and nothing more. Doctors say that in case of illness it is enough to drink 2-3 liters of water a day, and this norm should include clean water, and teas, and compotes, etc. But each person is individual, if before illness he drank 2-5 glasses of liquid in day, then you do not need to start drinking sharply any more, especially if there are problems with metabolism, kidneys, diabetes mellitus. Doctors emphasize once again that it is important to report any health problems to the attending physician so that he can prescribe the right treatment.
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