In the UK, Luke Williamson was in poor health during the first lockdown. After a suspected infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, his family notably advised him to drink plenty of water. Only here, the person concerned followed this recommendation a little too literally to the point of risking death.
During the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic , some people greatly panicked. In February 2020, a father killed himself in India, believing he was infected with the coronavirus. He didn't want to infect his family. A few weeks later, 300 people died in Iran. They believed that drinking high-strength methanol-type alcohol could kill the coronavirus in their bodies. All these people had taken at face value fake news circulating on the Web .
As the Daily Mail explains in an article published on December 29, 2020, the Briton Luke Williamson has come close to the end. No fake news in this case, only a simple recommendation from his family. During the first lockdown in the UK in March/April 2020, the man felt his health declining. He hadn't been well for a week and his family advised him to drink lots of water.
One evening, Luke Williamson went to take a bath and then collapsed in a bloodbath. His wife Laura could not open the bathroom door because it was locked. So she spoke to her husband to keep him awake until help arrived 45 minutes later. Finally unconscious, the man was transported to the emergency room. The problem is simply explained:Luke Williamson drank way too much water, for 4 to 5 liters per day ! He then suffered from water intoxication.
In fact, the water flushed the sodium out of his body. This is called hyponatremia, an illness caused by a sodium level of less than 135 millimoles per litre (mmol/L). The symptoms are as follows:swelling of the brain (which this Brit suffered), lethargy, nausea, convulsions and in some cases, coma or even death. If it is very important to hydrate often, it is therefore necessary to remain cautious about the quantities, at the risk of diluting the sodium that the blood contains naturally.
Cared for, Luke Williamson spent no less than three days on life support in intensive care. When he arrived, the doctors made no promises about improving the man's health. However, the latter still got away with it and was placed on work stoppage for six months . Out of the woods, he is however still often plagued by fatigue and resumes his life slowly. He even started working again, but only part-time.
