"All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison.

The right dose

differentiates a poison and a remedy."
As part of the science community I think this practice is acceptable and even possible of
water pollution. Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning or dilutional
hyponatremia, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brainfunctions that results when the normal
balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by over-hydration.Under normal
circumstances, accidentally consuming too much water is exceptionally rare. Nearly all deaths
related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking
contests in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water, or from long bouts of
exercise during which excessive amounts of fluid were consumed. Moreover, water cure, a
method of torture in which the victim is forced to consume excessive amounts of water, can
cause water intoxication.Water, just like any other substance, can be considered a poison when
over-consumed in a specific period of time. Water intoxication mostly occurs when water is
being consumed in a high quantity without giving the body the proper nutrients it needs to be
healthy.Excess of body water may also be a result of a medical condition or improper treatment;
see "hyponatremia" for some examples. Water is considered the least toxic chemical compound,
with an LD50 of 90 ml/kg or more in rats.
Toxicology is the science of poisons, which are sometimes referred to as toxins or
toxicants. The former term applies to all natural poisons produced by organisms, such as the
botulinum toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. The latter more generic term
includes both natural and anthropogenic (human-made) toxicants like dichlorodiphenyl
trichloroethane (DDT), which is perhaps the most commonly recognized toxicant.Even though
the botulinum toxin is extremely toxic to humans, and DDT is relatively toxic to insects, it is
important to recognize that virtually any element or compound will become toxic at some
concentration. For example, iron, which is an essential component of hemoglobin , can cause
vomiting, liver damage, and even death if it is ingested in excess. This concept of toxicity was
recognized five centuries ago by the Swiss alchemist and physician Paracelsus (14931541),
who stated that, "The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy." How much of the
toxicant an organism receives depends on both the exposure and dose. Exposure is a measure of
the amount of a toxicant that comes into contact with the organism through air, water, soil, and/or

food. Dose is a measure of the amount of toxicant that comes into contact with the target organ
or tissue, within the organism, where it exerts a toxic effect. The dose is largely determined by
how effectively the toxicant is absorbed, distributed, metabolized , and eliminated by the body.
As a consequence, basic toxicological studies include measurements of the effects of increasing
doses of a toxicant on an organism or some component of that organism (e.g., tissue, cell,
subcellular structure, or compound). The measurements are commonly plotted as doseresponse
curves. A doseresponse curve typically ranges from relatively low concentrations that do not
elicit a toxic effect to higher concentrations that are increasingly toxic.
Abstract To protect the quality of water from toxic pollutants for the health of humans and the
environment, two approaches are generally applied in the field of toxicology to predict the
effects of pollutants and to monitor the toxic pollutants in water. Because of toxicology of water
like Ingested nitrites and nitrates from polluted drinking waters can induce methemoglobinemia
in humans, particularly in young infants, by blocking the oxygen-carrying capacity of
hemoglobin.i It also can human faces many problem.Example

Low body mass (infants)

It can be very easy for children under one year old to absorb too much water, especially if the
child is under nine months old. Because of their small body mass, it is easy to take in a large
amount of water relative to body mass and total body sodium stores.

Endurance sports[
Marathon runners are susceptible to water intoxication if they drink too much while running.
This is caused when sodium levels drop below 135 mmol/L when athletes consume large
amounts of fluid. This has been noted to be the result of the encouragement of excessive fluid
replacement by various guidelines. This has largely been identified in marathon runners as a
dilutional hyponatremia. A study conducted on participants of the 2002 Boston marathon found
that thirteen percent finished the race with hyponatremia. The study concluded that the strongest
predictor of hyponatremia was weight gain while racing (over-hydration), and hyponatremia was
just as likely to occur in runners who chose sports drinks as those who chose water. Medical
personnel at marathon events are trained to suspect water intoxication immediately when runners
collapse or show signs of confusion.

 Overexertion and heat stress

Any activity or situation that promotes heavy sweating can lead to water intoxication when water
is consumed to replace lost fluids. Persons working in extreme heat and/or humidity for long
periods must take care to drink and eat in ways that help to maintain electrolyte balance. People
using drugs such as MDMA (often referred to colloquially as "Ecstasy") may overexert
themselves, perspire heavily, and then drink large amounts of water to rehydrate, leading to
electrolyte imbalance and water intoxication this is compounded by MDMA use increasing the
levels of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), decreasing the amount of water lost through
urination. Even people who are resting quietly in extreme heat or humidity may run the risk of
water intoxication if they drink large amounts of water over short periods for rehydration.

Competitive eating training

Competitive eaters often train for their sport by drinking large amounts of water in a short period of time in an
attempt to stretch their stomach to increase their food intake capacity.

Psychiatric conditions
Psychogenic polydipsia is the psychiatric condition in which patients feel compelled to drink
large quantities of water, thus putting them at risk of water intoxication. This condition can be
especially dangerous if the patient also exhibits other psychiatric indications (as is often the
case), as the care-takers might misinterpret the hyponatremic symptoms.

Iatrogenic[
When an unconscious person is being fed intravenously (for example, total parenteral nutrition)
or via a nasogastric tube the fluids given must be carefully balanced in composition to match
fluids and electrolytes lost. These fluids are typically hypertonic, and so water is often coadministered. If the electrolytes are not monitored (even in an ambulatory patient)
either hypernatremia or hyponatremia may result
Some neurological/psychiatric medications (Oxcarbazepine, among others) have been found to
cause hyponatremia in some patients. Patients with diabetes insipidus are particularly vulnerable
due to rapid fluid processing.

 Pathophysiology
At the onset of this condition, fluid outside the cells has an excessively low amount of solutes
(such as sodium (hyponatremia) and other electrolytes) in comparison to that inside the cells
causing the fluid to shift through (via osmosis) into the cells to balance its concentration. This
causes the cells to swell. In the brain, this swelling increases intracranial pressure (ICP). It is this
increase in pressure which leads to the first observable symptoms of water intoxication:
headache, personality changes, changes in behavior, confusion, irritability, and drowsiness.
These are sometimes followed by difficulty breathing during exertion, muscle weakness & pain,
twitching, or cramping, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and a dulled ability to perceive and interpret
sensory information. As the condition persists, papillary and vital signs may result
including bradycardia and widened pulse pressure. The cells in the brain may swell to the point
where blood flow is interrupted resulting in cerebral edema. Swollen brain cells may also
apply pressure to the brain stem causing central nervous system dysfunction. Both cerebral
edema and interference with the central nervous system are dangerous and could result in
seizures, brain damage, coma or death.

Prevention
Water intoxication can be prevented if a person's intake of water does not grossly exceed his or
her losses. Healthy kidneys are able to excrete approximately 0.8 to 1 litre of fluid water (0.21 0.26 gallons) per hour. However, stress (from prolonged physical exertion), as well as disease
states, can greatly reduce this amount.
In this example, it was discovered that a rare, but naturally occurring and essential
element was unwittingly concentrated to toxic levels in the environment by human activity.