Question

3. A news clip once reported that a long distance runner drank too much water and eventually
collapsed and died? Explain why using what you have learned in this lab and in class.

Answer 1

Answer:

Hyponatraemia can be described as a situation in which there is a decrease in the sodium concentration of serum. Such condition arises due to excess of water due to which the concentration of the solutes becomes a lot lesser. Hence, it is also called as water intoxication.

The long-distance runner collapsed and died because he had consumed so much water that the water concentration in his body had diluted the concentration of vital minerals such as sodium. The drop-down of the sodium concentration was up to dangerous levels.