Woman dies after drinking too much water in 20 minutes

A 35-year-old mother passed away after drinking 64 ounces of water in just 20 minutes.

According to a report by ABC News, the woman named Ashley Summers started consuming so much water after feeling extremely dehydrated during a family getaway.

Her brother Devon Miller detailed the incident on Good Morning America and recalled that she had around four 16-ounce bottles of water in less than 20 minutes at the time. She “felt dizzy and had this headache” later in the day and “passed out in the garage” of her house.

Doctors told Miller and the rest of the family that Summers suffered water intoxication, which occurs after an “excessive water ingestion” in a short period of time, according to the National Institutes of Health. It “provokes disturbances in electrolyte balance, resulting in a rapid decrease in serum sodium concentration and eventual death.”

“The condition may go unrecognized in the early stages when the patient may have symptoms of confusion, disorientation, nausea, and vomiting, but also changes in mental state and psychotic symptoms,” the NIH stated.

Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a medical toxicologist, told Good Morning America that water intoxication can be prevented by making sure one’s water intake is being spaced out properly. "The general recommendation is two liters of water per day, on average, per person, and that's throughout the day," she noted.