What are some of the symptoms of hyponatremia?

Hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is decrease in serum sodium concentration < 136 mEq/L caused by an excess of water relative to solute. Common causes include diuretic use, diarrhea, heart failure, liver disease, renal disease, and the syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion (SIADH).

In rare cases, drinking an extreme amount in a short time can be dangerous. It can cause the level of salt, or sodium, in your blood to drop too low. That’s a condition called hyponatremia.It’s very serious, and can be fatal. You may hear it called water intoxication.

It helps maintain normal blood pressure, supports the work of your nerves and muscles, and regulates your body’s fluid balance. A normal blood sodium level is between 135 and 145 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L). Hyponatremia occurs when the sodium in your blood falls below 135 mEq/L.

Patients with lung cancer can develop low sodium levels (hyponatremia) for the same reasons as other patients. If the sodium levels fall very low, the patient may have symptoms including nausea/vomiting, headache, confusion, and even seizures.

Naturally occurring sodium is in foods such as celery, beets and milk. Packaged and prepared foods, like canned soups, lunch meats and frozen dinners, often have sodium added during manufacturing. This sodium might be in the form of salt or other forms of sodium (like baking soda) that show up in our food.

This is the most common cause of hypernatremia. Excessive losses of water from the urinary tract – which may be caused by glycosuria, or other osmotic diuretics (e.g., mannitol) – leads to a combination of sodium and free water losses. Water losses associated with extreme sweating.

Acute hyponatremia. Acute hyponatremia can lead to much more severe complications such as cerebral edema, brain disease, herniation of the brain, cardiopulmonary arrest, seizure, coma and even death.

High-Sodium Foods:

Smoked, cured, salted or canned meat, fish or poultry including bacon, cold cuts, ham, frankfurters, sausage, sardines, caviar and anchovies.

Frozen breaded meats and dinners, such as burritos and pizza.

Canned entrees, such as ravioli, spam and chili.

Salted nuts.

Beans canned with salt added.

Low blood sodium (hyponatremia) occurs when you have an abnormally low amount of sodium in your blood or when you have too much water in your blood. Signs and symptoms of hyponatremia can include altered personality, lethargy and confusion. Severe hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma and even death.

To the Editor: Hyponatremia is a very common electrolyte abnormality seen in hospitalized patients. Mild hyponatremia is generally asymptomatic, but severe hyponatremia can be fatal. Hyponatremia is a rare but well-known complication of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Why Checking for Low Sodium or High Sodium Levels Matters. Unfortunately, disorders like subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain tumors, stroke and meningitis can all cause hyponatremia, and thereby worsened brain swelling. The way they do this is by altering normal hormonal control of water and sodium levels in the body.

Your kidneys can eliminate about 5.3-7.4 gallons (20-28 liters) of water a day, but they can’t get rid of more than 27-33 ounces (0.8-1.0 liters) per hour (14, 15). Therefore, in order to avoid hyponatremia symptoms, you should not drink more than 27-33 ounces (0.8-1.0 liters) of water per hour, on average (14).

Following a low-salt diet helps keep high blood pressure and swelling (also called edema) under control. It can also make breathing easier if you have heart failure. You should have no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day if you’ve got heart failure. Less than 1,500 mg a day is ideal.

These dangerously low sodium levels cause muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and if not treated, can lead to shock and coma. If you have certain heart, liver, or kidney problems, you may be at a greater risk of hyponatremia and should speak to your doctor about how much water to drink every day.

Hyponatremia or low sodium blood levels may result from excess fluid in the body relative to a normal amount of sodium, or it may be due to a loss of sodium and body fluid caused by chronic conditions like kidney or congestive heart failure. Severe hyponatremia can lead to coma and can be fatal.

For serious symptomatic hyponatremia, the first line of treatment is prompt intravenous infusion of hypertonic saline, with a target increase of 6 mmol/L over 24 hours (not exceeding 12 mmol/L) and an additional 8 mmol/L during every 24 hours thereafter until the patient’s serum sodium concentration reaches 130 mmol/L.

The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is defined by the hyponatremia and hypo-osmolality resulting from inappropriate, continued secretion or action of the antidiuretic hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP) despite normal or increased plasma volume, which results in impaired water excretion.

You may not have any symptoms, unless your blood sodium levels are significantly elevated. Dizziness when you stand up or change positions (you may be dehydrated). Severe sweating or fever; vomiting and diarrhea with markedly elevated sodium levels, if your hypernatremia is due to a loss of body fluids.

Hyponatremia and hypernatremia are common in the elderly, particularly among those who are hospitalized or living in long-term care facilities. Hyponatremia is defined as a serum sodium concentration of less than 137 mEq per L (137 mmol per L).

Learn to identify these symptoms of hypokalemia to know when it’s necessary to seek medical help:

Constipation.

Fatigue.

Rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown)

Weakness or muscle spasms.

Dysrythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) especially in patients with heart disease.

Paralysis, possibly in the lungs.

Originally posted 2021-02-13 07:45:54.