A Sacramento County woman died over the weekend from water intoxication after participating in a radio contest called Hold Your Wee for a Wii.
ImageAs the name implies, the contest at KDND 107.9 had contestants drinking large amounts of water, and the one that could resist the urge to urinate for the longest period of time would win a Wii.
28-year-old Jennifer Strange died on Friday after participating in the contest. "She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad," said co-worker Laura Rios. "She was crying, and that was the last that anyone had heard from her."
Another participant in the contest said that Strange told him she was trying to win a Wii for her kids.
A coroner had determined that her death was consistent with a water intoxication death.
The AP described the radio stations VP and marketing manager as stunned after the news of Strange's death.
Contestants had to drink an 8-ounce bottle every 15 minutes, but later in the contest, they had to drink larger bottles. It's unclear how much Strange drank.
According to About.com, under normal circumstances, water intoxication is very rare. However, when one drinks too much water within a short span of time, the dilution of sodium causes tissue swelling, resulting in pressure on the brain and nerves, causing seizures, coma and eventually death if not treated.
