Woman dies in bladder endurance contest

January 14, 2007 at 1:06 am by ojrifkin · More posts about:Fatalities, Sacramento

(Thanks Brian Subich) MSNBC.com reports that a woman died after competing in a contest in Sacramento where the objective was to avoid going to the bathroom while drinking a 8 ounce bottle of water every 15 minutes. The winner would receive a Nintendo Wii.

Comments (11)

11 Comments »

  1. anonymous said

    January 14, 2007 @ 11:12 am

    Tell this to Chestnut

  2. Anonymous Coward said

    January 14, 2007 @ 8:00 pm

    This is pretty sad. It sounds like the people running the event did a poor job of understanding the potential risks of what they were doing. I would think they would at least ask a doctor if it was safe.

    That said, I am pretty surprised to hear this could happen in a contest like this. It sounds like they were drinking a quart of water per hour. Compared to Joey Chestnut’s milk stunt, that’s incredibly slow. This kind of thing usually happens to people in extreme endurance conditions like marathons. Will this make any eaters think again about “water training”?

  3. MEGA MUNCH said

    January 15, 2007 @ 7:13 am

    I read an article in Esquire or GQ about the death of a college student who was pledging a fraternity and was forced to drink water as part of an initiaition ceremony. That stuff is no joke. They say it’s all about the electolytes (water having none and throwing off the levels in your body). In other words, if you were to drink an equivalent amount of Gatorade, you’d be okay. Supposedly.

  4. anonymous said

    January 15, 2007 @ 8:56 am

    The only type of home training the IFOCE permitted in the past was water training. Let’s see what they have to say about this. Fatalaty from food is one thing but water???

  5. Liz said

    January 15, 2007 @ 10:37 am

    I think the real danger here has to do with not going to the bathroom. I think when that happens, toxins that your body would normally release build up and are, apparently, fatal. This is really sad.

  6. Anonymous Coward said

    January 15, 2007 @ 11:16 am

    The most recent thing I read said she drank over a half gallon of water. I frequently drink a half gallon of water in the morning, just from thirst. Of course I also “eliminate” what I drink. I wonder if I’m doing something I shouldn’t be. Maybe I should switch to Gatorade – man that’s a lotta calories.

    I read that the common treatments are sodium replacement and diuretics, so Liz is probably correct about not using the restroom aggravating the situation. Except that the toxin not being release is the water itself.

  7. Steakbellie said (Registered August 11, 2006)

    January 15, 2007 @ 11:24 am

    horrible

    how many of us would do something silly like this contest to get something great for our kids like a wii??? everybody. I’m really sad for this womans family.

    In trying to get my head around what could have gone wrong here, I think I wouldnt be surprised to find out that the woman was smaller, and would be effected more by a change water volume/blood dillution.

    Mega Munch is right, the danger is in the water diluting/washing away the electrolyte salts in the brain. The nervous system is dependant on those salts to conduct electricity, once they are washed away they stop firing and communication to your organs is shut off.

    I also wouldnt be surprised to find out that the Radio Station bought Distilled Water instead of Spring Water. I’ve seen them side by side in the drug store. Distilled water has no minerals in it, and is considered ‘Hungry’. It would bond with every mineral it found in your body and strip it of salts at a much greater factor than just regular water.

  8. Brazen said (Registered August 3, 2006)

    January 15, 2007 @ 12:15 pm

    The condition is called hyponatremia. Runners are especially susceptible to it when running in hot conditions if they drink gallons of water rather than sports drinks which have an electolyte (salt) concentration similar to the body’s own.

    Four fit, young, runners died of suspected hyponatremia in the UK’s Great North Run half marathon in 2005, which had unseasonably warm weather.

  9. Brazen said (Registered August 3, 2006)

    January 15, 2007 @ 12:17 pm

    Here is a much better explanation than I could manage:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6263029.stm

  10. DALE BOONE said

    January 15, 2007 @ 1:24 pm

    PEOPLE STOP ALL THIS CRAP !!!!!!!!

    THIS ONLY HAPPENS IF YOU LOSE SALTS AT A FAST PACE.

    NOT WHAT THE WATER DOES . WHEN YOU RUN YOU LOSE SALTS AND PLAIN WATER DOES NOT REPLACE THEM.

    USE YOU BRAINS !! ADD SOME SALTS OR ADD POWER FAV .

    LIKE LIZ SAID SHE HELD HER PEE WHAT WAS SHE THINKING .

    AND THE NEW PRESS IS TO BLAME

    THE WOMAN DIE AFTER DRIVING HOME
    THE NEWS PAPER HERE READ

    WOMAN DIE IN DRINKING CONTEST ?????

    ARE THEY TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK SHE WAS IN A EATING CONTEST ?

    AFTER WATCHING ( WITHOUT A TRACE )

    I SEE SOME PEOPLE DONT LIKE WHAT WE DO
    OR THEY DONT UNDERSTAND THE SPORT

    THEY TRY TO PLAY AS IF POEPLE IN OUR SPORT
    ARE NUT CASES .

    THE WRITER OF THE SHOW DIDNT TRY TO KNOW OUR SPORT BUT ONLY TO RIP IT OFF LIKE
    THE SPORT WAS CALL OCE ????

    BUT THEN AGAIN LOOK AT WHAT I SEE AND KNOW

    ESPN
    AND ABC ARE OWN BY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO PROMOTE OUR SPORT

    WITHOUTA TRACE – CBS

    ENOUGH SAID !!!!

    PS OH YES THEY WOULD

  11. anonymous said

    January 15, 2007 @ 4:18 pm

    Boone why do you make it so difficult for us to read your either illiterate or 3rd grade writing abilities. They should take a vote as to whose text is more difficult to comprehend, yours or Kobe’s site translating to english .

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