How Long Can A Man Live Without Water?

[abminara 0]

Well, I've been doing some research about this, and some sources said that a man can only live up to 3 days without water, very few said about 5, and one said that a man can live for a whole week without water, then lose conscience, and live in that condition for another week while his heart and lungs still work. What do you think?

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[salamangkero 0]

Well, I've been doing some research about this, and some sources said that a man can only live up to 3 days without water, very few said about 5, and one said that a man can live for a whole week without water, then lose conscience, and live in that condition for another week while his heart and lungs still work. What do you think?

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Wow... I've never encountered those sources. I know, however, that, on the average, humans can live for only 2 days without water. I doubt anyone can live without water for 5 days, much less, two weeks.

[Saint_Michael 3]

You coorect usually 3 days is the max for anyone to live without water, but I don't remember if the body starts shutting down or you just drop dead though. I found this interesting quote and I believe it is the most accurate of pictures with how long you can survive without water, "3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food." After reading a couple of articles it would see that a slow shutdown of your body is the most likely course as dehydration sets and starts ruining some organz and such, but of course I don't think anyone would test that theory though but growing up I always heard 3 days.

[abminara 0]

Thanks. This is actually a way voluntary death is brought to life in several countries (where it is legal and hospitals are allowed to help you die if you want to). But the article said that a person can survive for almost 2 weeks - I doubted that, that's why I asked.

[anachro 0]

I went 2 days w/o water on accident once, and I was at work, and all the sudden my hands fell asleep (exactly like how you feet or legs do from lack of blood), it was on Black Friday no-doubt, and I work as a salesman, (so you know), it was freaky, but once I downed about 3 cups of water I was fine shortly thereafter. Its pretty scary when you can't feel your hands, you get dizzy from the simplest motions, and walking is tiring.

[Joshua 0]

A lot longer than he can live with too much.

[salamangkero 0]

I found this interesting quote and I believe it is the most accurate of pictures with how long you can survive without water, "3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food." After reading a couple of articles it would see that a slow shutdown of your body is the most likely course as dehydration sets and starts ruining some organs and such, but of course I don't think anyone would test that theory though

I think that's a rather inaccurate quote... Some people in our country have lived entire lives without shelter. Also, people can last up to two months without food. As for the three days without water... I think 3 days is the point where the dehydrated person dies, not where his body starts to shutdown. I could be wrong, though, lacking the initiative to back up my statements with verifiable sources at the moment

[serverph 0]

perhaps stmike is supposed to say "3 minutes without air" instead of "3 hours without shelter", at least when it pertains to Nature's 3-3-3 survival rule -- air-water-and-food in the sequence of surviving without, in timeframes of minutes, days, and weeks. the "3 hours without shelter", though not in the usual 3-3-3 quote is a generally accepted rule -- in extreme hot or cold conditions. another similar rule exists pertaining to 3 minutes in freezing water before hypothermia sets in.

[techclave 0]

I dont really know how long a man can survive without water. But i have heard of something crazy like this.There is a village at north america ( if i remember correctly !!! ) occupied by some native tribals . And the water over there stays highly contaminated. So, the locals use some kind of a plant juice for all their needs . i.e, they take a liquid from these plants and use it as a substitute for water. As i had seen it on a footage on a television channel, i do not remember the exact name of the village. But, if it is true, then a man could live for his whole life span without water, provided he has a substitute for it.

[Tourist 0]

Well, I've been doing some research about this, and some sources said that a man can only live up to 3 days without water, very few said about 5, and one said that a man can live for a whole week without water, then lose conscience, and live in that condition for another week while his heart and lungs still work. What do you think?

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How much time a man can live without water is depends on many factors. For a healthy man, main factors are environment temperature and relative humidity.

If environment temperature is high, it will cause more water losses from body and lead to early die. But if the temperature is normal, it will cause less water losses from the body and the person will survive more.

Again if relative humidity is low, it will cause more water losses from body and lead to early die. But if the relative humidity is normal, it will cause less water losses from the body and the person will survive more.

In general, one person can survive 2 to 10 days without water depending on the rate of water loss from the body.

So, I think 3 days, 5 days, 7 days all data is correct depending on environment where the experiment is done. If this experiment is done in a hot low humidity area, the person will survive less time than a high humid and normal temperature area.

[csp4.0 1]

You're taking things based on best scenarios...You don't only need to take humidity, air temperature into account, but also how much a person has had to drink already before that person gone into a waterless drought...3 minutes without air isn't true, people have stayed up to 5 minutes? without air... 3 minutes is probably the limit where an average person would start loosing consciousness and brain damage starts to occur.I would say two (2) to four (4) days without water, depending on Humidity, Air Temperature, and how much a person has had to drink already...I would say maybe in the last 12 hours you would lose consciousness and your organs would slowly dry out and die away...Impossible for a person to live without water. Substitutes also contain water.In best scenario, high air humidity (around 93%, non-fogging), low air temperature (around 18C), A person who is healthily hydrated, drunken atleast 3.1L of water in the past 24 hours, should live around 3.5 days, or in other words around 84 hours, that is my assumption, so knock yourselves out trying to prove me wrong!

[Vixen_Poetic 0]

There was a short quip I read years ago in an Analog magazine, semi relevant but funny;

A man can live without air for two minutes, water for two days, food for two weeks and an original thought for years on end.

Have you ever seen the show Survivorman or Man vs. Wild? The special need of the body for water comes up often including the additional information that a sufficiently water-saturated plant, if it's a safe plant, can allieviate some of the dehydration. Also interesting about Survivorman is that while the Canadian host is knowledgeble and capable of survival in most any environment, deserts kick his butt. For him it always comes down to not enough water in the environment to avoid dehydration. And that was even in winter when dew pools could be found.
For a real answer check out a first-aid or a 'what to do in an emergency' site.

[~Upnorf Cr3w~ 0]

Wow after reading up on some posts i dont go a day without water. I def would struggle after one day without water or any sort of drink.

[Striker9 0]

Well, I would say 3 days is the time where you drop dead because let's analyze it logically... Your body is made up of 70% water, you need around 1.5 - 2 liters of water daily, all metabolic reactions in your body require water, all your other body functions require water to be present, your blood is made up mainly of plasma (which is basically water)... so if you do not supply your body with water, soon your body functions will stop, your metabolic activity will cease, your blood pressure will drop, and finally within 3 days maximum you will drop dead lol! So yeah, I believe it's 3 days maximum and 2 weeks is tooooo much!! I strongly doubt that a man can stay alive for 2 weeks without drinking any water!

[oxida 0]

I was always told that you can live without water for 2 days. But I began to doubt when I didn't drink anything for almost 2 days and I only had huge headache and felt weak.So I think you can live 3 days with out water.