PEDIATRICS Vol. 100 No. 6 December 1997, p. e4
ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:
Hyponatremic Seizures Secondary to Oral Water Intoxication in
Infancy: Association With Commercial Bottled Drinking Water
Received Apr 4, 1997; accepted Jul 11, 1997.

From the * Wilkinson Medical Clinics, SC, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin,
and the
Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In recent years, hyponatremic seizures resulting from water
intoxication have been reported in the United States with an increasing frequency that some have likened to an epidemic. Infants
of parents living in poverty and uninformed of the risks of feeding fluids other than infant formula to their babies are particularly at
risk. Young infants with vomiting and diarrhea are
especially prone to developing hyponatremia if fed fluids lacking
sufficient sodium, but even those who are otherwise well may develop
symptomatic hyponatremia as a result of being fed excess solute-free
water. Most often tap water, either in the form of supplemental
feedings or overly dilute formula, has been given in excessive amounts over relatively short periods of time. Less
frequently, water in other forms such as juice, soda, or tea has been
implicated. This report includes the cases of two
infants treated at our institution for hyponatremic seizures and water
intoxication after being fed with the same bottled drinking water
product marketed for use in infants. The medical records of all infants
1 year of age admitted to our institution over 10 years with the
diagnosis of hyponatremic seizures were also reviewed.




