Health Drinking water can be harmful to smallest babies

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies younger than six months old should never be given water to drink, physicians at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore remind parents. Consuming too much water can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication.

"Even when they're very tiny, they have an intact thirst reflex or a drive to drink," Dr. Jennifer Anders, a pediatric emergency physician at the center, told Reuters Health. "When they have that thirst and they want to drink, the fluid they need to drink more of is their breast milk or formula."

Because babies' kidneys aren't yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water, Anders said. Losing sodium can affect brain activity, so early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures.

 
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ScarletBlade

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"early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures."

Don't most children have uncontrollable emotions, usually sleepy (Drowsiness) Crying/Angry (Irritability) I could see the part where they would move abnormally...
 

Ninva

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"early symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness and other mental changes. Other symptoms include low body temperature (generally 97 degrees or less), puffiness or swelling in the face, and seizures."

Don't most children have uncontrollable emotions, usually sleepy (Drowsiness) Crying/Angry (Irritability) I could see the part where they would move abnormally...
In medication, the official description for irritability means extreme sensitivity or inflammation. This can also be understood be to an emotion, so it's possible the doctors are just trying to say the kid will cry a lot. But it's kinda stupid of them to even use such a homographic term. :rolleyes: I guess it was described by lawyers not doctors.
 
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