In general, having too much water in your body is usually the main problem. The excess water dilutes the sodium levels. Much less frequently, hyponatremia is due to significant sodium loss from your body. Too much water in your body causes your blood to become watered down.
If you have low sodium levels, incorporating more sodium-rich foods, consuming sports drinks or electrolyte solutions, and considering sodium supplements can help increase your sodium levels.
Symptoms of hyponatremia can include nausea and vomiting, loss of energy and confusion. Serious hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma and even death.
Our bodies need a small amount of salt for a variety of functions, such as the working of nerves and muscles. However, there is enough sodium present in all foods that a lack of sodium does not generally cause any problems in these areas. It is rarely necessary to add extra salt to food.
Your doctor may recommend IV sodium solution to slowly raise the sodium levels in your blood. This requires a stay in the hospital for frequent monitoring of sodium levels as too rapid of a correction is dangerous.
Drinking too much water, can cause the electrolyte levels in the body to get out of whack and cause sodium levels plummet.
Drinking excessive amounts of water can cause low sodium by overwhelming the kidneys' ability to excrete water. Because you lose sodium through sweat, drinking too much water during endurance activities, such as marathons and triathlons, can also dilute the sodium content of your blood.
At-home sodium tests are available and require either a urine or blood sample. A home sodium urine test comprises a container, a test strip, and a set of illustrated instructions. The procedure includes collecting fresh urine in the container and then briefly dipping the test strip into the urine.
When the sodium level in your blood is too low, extra water goes into your cells and makes them swell. This swelling can be dangerous especially in the brain, since the brain cannot expand past the skull.
The water excretion rate of a healthy adult is about 20 L/day and does not exceed 800-1,000 mL/hr9). Thus, the maximum amount of water that a person with normal renal function can drink is 800-1,000 mL/hr to avoid hyponatremia symptoms.
If sodium levels drop too much or too quickly, hyponatremia can quickly become life-threatening. Therapy may be short-term or long-term, but with early diagnosis and treatment, most people can fully recover from hyponatremia.
The medical team will restore the sodium level over the course of several hours or days, depending on the severity of your condition.
Hyponatremia in elderly subjects is mainly caused by drugs (more frequently thiazides and antidepressants), the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIAD) or endocrinopathies; however, hyponatremia is multifactorial in a significant proportion of patients.
It's no surprise that cheese accounts for about 8 percent of the sodium in the average American's diet, she adds. Ounce per ounce, your average cheese packs as much sodium as a salt-filled bag of potato chips. That being said, you don't necessarily want to buy that cheese marked "low sodium" at the grocery store.
Thus, caffeine appears to increase urinary sodium excretion by inhibiting renal ENaC activity secondary to the AMPK pathway.
When too little sodium circulates in the bloodstream, the production of antidiuretic hormone ceases. As a result, the kidneys increase urine production until sodium concentration returns to a normal level.
Sweat typically contains 40-60 mmol/L of sodium, leading to approximately 20-90 mmol of sodium lost in one exercise session with sweat rates of 0.5-1.5 L/h. Reductions in sodium intake of 20-90 mmol/day have been associated with substantial health benefits.
Possible Complications
In severe cases, low sodium can lead to: Decreased consciousness, hallucinations or coma. Brain herniation. Death.
Hyponatremia can occur with hypovolemic or hypervolemic or euvolemic states. Common causes include diuretics, vomiting, diarrhea, congestive heart failure, renal, and liver disease.
Metabolic disorders such as hyponatremia which is the most common electrolyte disorder can cause a stroke mimic condition.
While there is no drinking water standard for sodium, state and federal agencies recommend sodium levels in water not exceed 20 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for people on very low sodium diets and 270 mg/L for people on moderately restricted sodium diets.