Man dies after drinking too much water

A 59-year-old man in Ireland died from water intoxication after drinking too much water on the advice of a doctor. This condition is called hyponatremia in medicine.
While drinking enough water is important for health, drinking too much and too often can lower the sodium level in the blood. If its level drops, water begins to accumulate in and around the body's cells. This causes the cells to swell. The process is especially dangerous for the brain, because the skull is rigid and cannot expand. Experts say that drinking 1.4 liters of water (about six glasses) in an hour can cause this condition.