Drinking a lot of water with a cold is generally not water intoxication, as long as the body’s water intake does not exceed the amount of water discharged, water intoxication will not occur.
Water intoxication, also known as dilutional hyponatremia, is due to the body’s water intake exceeds the amount of discharge, water retention in the body resulting in a decrease in plasma osmolality and an increase in circulating blood volume. It is rare in clinical practice.
Common causes include renal insufficiency, inability to effectively excrete excess water; excessive secretion of ADH due to various reasons; large intake of electrolyte-free fluids or excessive intravenous hydration.
Due to excessive water intake or discharge too little, the volume of extracellular fluid increases abruptly, serum sodium is diluted and the concentration decreases, the osmotic pressure of the extracellular fluid decreases, and water is transferred from the extracellular to the intracellular, as a result of which the volume of intracellular and extracellular fluids increases and the osmotic pressure decreases. At the same time, the increase in the amount of extracellular fluid inhibits aldosterone secretion, so that the reabsorption of water and Na+ in renal distal tubules is reduced, the urinary excretion of Na+ is increased, the concentration of serum sodium decreases, and the decrease in osmolality of the extracellular fluid is more pronounced.
Cold and flu patients may have fever, cough, etc., can accelerate the evaporation of water from the skin, respiratory tract, so the body needs a lot of water to balance, generally drink more water will not lead to water intoxication.
After the cold if the symptoms continue not to improve or even aggravate the need to consult a doctor in a timely manner.