HELP! Drinking Water Makes Me Feel Sick (And I Don't Know Why)

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Drinking Water and Feeling Sick

Possible Causes of Nausea From Drinking Water

1. Feeling Sick From Drinking Contaminated Water

2. Feeling Sick From Food, Not Water

3. Feeling Sick From Water Intoxication

4. Feeling Sick From Chugging Water Too Fast

5. Feeling Sick From Drinking Water Too Fast While Dehydrated

6. Feeling Sick From Due To Other Digestive Problems

Conclusion

Do you find yourself getting dizzy or feeling ill when you drink water?

Are you worried about this?

Can drinking too much water make you dizzy?

If you’re one of the many people who thinks, “Drinking water makes me feel sick!” don’t worry. You’re not alone. For many people, a glass of water can bring on nausea, burning stomach pain, and dizziness, even though there may not be any noticeable reason for any of these symptoms.

Is it alarming to be sick from drinking water? Should you rush off to the hospital if it happens to you? Probably not, but you should be aware of the potential causes of this condition.

Below, we’ve listed several issues that may be the culprit behind your dizziness and sick feeling when you drink water. Check out this information and determine whether or not you think one or more of these may apply to you.

Drinking Water and Feeling Sick

Here are a few facts about the relationship between drinking water and feeling sick. Remember that this is not an uncommon problem, but if it’s new to you, you should speak to your doctor about it. Pay attention to the information we have listed below to help you better understand what might be causing you to feel badly after you drink a glass of water, and see if you can narrow down the problem. If it’s something you can’t take care of on your own at home, you will need to get medical assistance to help treat the underlying cause. However, many of these issues can be rectified on your own.

Possible Causes of Nausea From Drinking Water

1. Feeling Sick From Drinking Contaminated Water

The water you’re drinking could be contaminated. This is a pretty serious underlying cause that may be making you sick when you drink water out of your tap or from another source. If you think there’s a chance you are drinking contaminated water, make sure you get the water tested if at all possible. If this is not possible, speak to other people who have been drinking the same water to determine whether or not this is happening to them too. If it is, there may be a pollutant or bacteria in the water supply that’s making people get sick, and this needs to be treated immediately.

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2. Feeling Sick From Food, Not Water

You may be feeling nausea from food and not from water. While it might seem like a no-brainer, make sure you’re paying attention to what you eat when you feel bad, too! If you have a glass of water and it makes you feel sick but you’ve also just had a huge greasy or cheesy meal, then chances are good it’s the food and not the water making you feel that way. For a problem like this, it can be beneficial to keep a food diary to help you see patterns in your sick feelings and determine if something you’re eating is causing your stomach upset or your dizziness instead of the water.

3. Feeling Sick From Water Intoxication

If you’re sure it’s from water, consider how much water you’re drinking in a day, as this can be a sign of serious water intoxication. It is absolutely possible to drink too much water in a day. Water intoxication is a very real and very dangerous condition that can and often does lead to death. Even if you don’t die from it, you will become very sick and you’ll have to spend some time in the hospital to get better. This is why it’s a good idea to drink eight glasses of water a day but not to go over this (unless you sweat a lot or you’re pregnant). Even if you’re an exception to the eight glass rule, you still need to make sure you aren’t drinking so much water that you risk this condition.

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4. Feeling Sick From Chugging Water Too Fast

Chugging water may make you feel sick more than sipping it will. Drinking a lot of water very quickly is a sure way to get that water sloshing around in your stomach and make you feel dizzy or nauseated overall. This feeling should pass as the water is digested and processed by your body, but until then, you’re likely to feel pretty uncomfortable. You can cut back on this happening at all by making sure you take small sips and “nurse” your water rather than knocking it all back at once. Although it may be tempting to drink a lot of water quickly when you’re very hot, it’s much safer to do it slowly!

5. Feeling Sick From Drinking Water Too Fast While Dehydrated

If you have been dehydrated and then drink a lot very quickly, you may become sick. For example, if you work out hard and don’t have enough to drink throughout your workout, you’re going to get dehydrated. You might want to rush home and chug a huge bottle of water right away, but doing this will make you feel dizzy and nauseated for sure. Go slowly and rehydrate over time when you’ve been dehydrated. And try to get some of your hydration from foods instead of getting it all from drinking water, too—fruits are a great source of natural water.

6. Feeling Sick From Due To Other Digestive Problems

Some stomach and digestive conditions can cause this problem. If you suffer from digestive disorders or conditions like Crohn’s disease or IBS, you may end up getting dizzy or nauseated from drinking water. Even if you just have something as simple as heartburn or GERD, there’s a chance this type of condition can cause this result, too. If you’re already diagnosed with something like this, chances are good that’s what’s causing the issue. However, if you haven’t yet been diagnosed, you may want to speak to your doctor to find out more information about these conditions and to help determine if you might have one of them.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are a lot of underlying causes that can and often do lead to feeling dizzy or sick when drinking water. This is not an uncommon problem, but it’s not exactly a common one either, so it’s a good idea to speak to your doctor about it if it’s a new condition for you. If you’re someone who has been experiencing this problem throughout most of your life, there’s a good chance it’s not a sign of anything serious, but you still might want to talk to a doctor about it to find out if there’s any way it can be treated.

Otherwise, if you find this happening a lot and want to deal with it on your own at home, make sure you’re taking small sips of water. Room temperature water may be easier for your body to handle than ice cold or warm water, so try that as well. And some people find that they have better results with alkaline or mineral water, too, although you should ask your doctor before trying something like this.

With the right game plan, you’ll be able to fight back against your water-related sick feeling in no time.

Additional Research:

https://www.zocdoc.com/answers/3868/can-water-cause-nausea

https://www.scienceforums.net/topic/19922-why-does-water-make-me-sick/

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