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Altered State of Consciousness in a Compulsive Water Drinker

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sing Lee ,
Chun Chung Chow  and
Linda C. L. Koo
Sing Lee*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
Chun Chung Chow
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
*
∗Dr S. Lee, Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, 11/F, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
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Abstract

A relatively normal 16-year-old Chinese woman with a six-month history of compulsive water drinking resulting in a comatose state is reported. The drinking was perpetuated by an enjoyable altered state of consciousness after ingestion of an average of 20 litres of water per day. Treatment by fluid restriction and, later, simple education was successful. The subjective dimension of an altered state of consciousness may provide an important explanation for the obscure aetiology.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 154 , Issue 4 , April 1989 , pp. 556 - 558
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1989 

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