People terrified after learning how drinking too much water can kill you

Stay hydrated - but avoid too many sugary drinks! Drink water - but don't drink too much!

Water has always felt like a safe option when it comes to being healthy; it's one of the only things out there without calories, additives, processed ingredients or mysterious chemicals, but apparently even the innocent, clear liquid has its downsides.

To be clear, this is not to say you should stop drinking water. It's important to stay hydrated, and it's hard to go wrong when it comes to water - but it's not entirely impossible.

Scientific American said it best when it reported on how water can cause some serious issues in an article which began 'Strange But True'.

The thing is, while water is vital to life, it can also be fatal if you drink too much.

I'm not talking one glass more than usual though - I mean if you manage to gulp down the stuff in seriously excessive amounts.

According to Scientific American, drinking too much water can result in hyponatremia, which means there is insufficient salt in the blood.

It's important to drink enough water to stay hydrated. (Getty Stock Photo)

Severe cases of hyponatremia can result in what is known as water intoxication; an illness with symptoms not unlike regular intoxication, including nausea, vomiting and frequent urination.

When we drink too much water, it can cause chaos in the kidneys, which typically control the amount of water and salts leaving the body by sieving the blood.

If there is too much water in the system, the blood becomes waterlogged. It then gets drawn to regions where the concentration of salt and other dissolved substances is higher, at which point it enters the cells which swell to try and make room for it.

Most cells are able to stretch, but that's not the case in the brain due to the fact it's contained by the skull. As a result, any swelling in the brain can be dangerous.

Too much water can cause swelling in the cells. (Getty Stock Photo)

M. Amin Arnaout, chief of nephrology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told the publication: "Rapid and severe hyponatremia causes entry of water into brain cells leading to brain swelling, which manifests as seizures, coma, respiratory arrest, brain stem herniation and death."

It is rare to consume a potentially fatal amount of water, but one example of it happening took place in 2007 when a 28-year-old woman died after drinking approximately six liters of water in three hours as part of a radio competition to try and 'hold your wee' to win a Nintendo Wii.

The news that drinking too much water can be fatal has left people concerned, with one person writing: "Wow that’s scary."

However, others noted that it is difficult to drink too much water, especially if you're being mindful of your intake.

University Hospitals has stated there is 'no set amount of water that causes water intoxication', but it notes that kidneys can process approximately one liter of fluid per hour, so it can be risky to consume any amount above that over a continuous number of hours.