Hyponatremia

Question: Hyponatremia? My dr has diagnosed as having hyponatremia and has put me on a fluid restriction. Are there any supplements or foods that can help ? I can only have 2 liters of watera day including coffee, soda, milk for my cereal and soup. I am thirsty and like drinking water. I am having a hard time with this restriction and I don't follow it I will end up back into the hosp. Does anyone know what will help? I don't gulp a lot of water at one time. I just pour a glass and sip and sip through the day . Thank You

Answer: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Hyponat…

Question: What is clinically induced hyponatremia: pharmacology. What are we doing clinically to cause hyponatremia? What is clinically induced hyponatremia: pharmacology. What are we doing clinically to cause hyponatremia?

Answer: Hypo natremia is the condition of low sodium levels in the blood plasma. It can be caused by low blood volume due to loss of body fluids by diarrhea,vomiting, use of diuretics Or due retention of water by the body due to action of some hormones.

Question: Can you treat Hyponatremia by drinking table salt dissolved in water? As alternative to an IV. I know drinking table salt is not as good as ER treatment, but drinking a solution like this would provide the body with electrolytes, no?

Answer: There are too many possible causes and degrees of condition for a simple answer, see the link below: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec12/ch156/ch… The article above does not seem to directly address the use of oral saline to treat the condition (maybe I overlooked it as I scanned the article). Hospitals like to use IV's and they need to take blood levels to monitor the condition, the article mentions the hazard of too rapid a change in Na levels damaging the brain.

Question: When you have Hyponatremia can you feel the swelling on your brain? I want to learn about this.

Answer: You will not specifically feel the swelling. You will, however, experience many symptoms of Hyponatremia, if your brain cells are swelling. The symptoms include, dizziness, headache, irritability, eye pain, muscle weakness, loss of coordination, confusion, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. Hyponatremia is a complex disorder and requires medical attention. It can sometimes be caused by overexertion with excess sweating or by drinking more water than your body can metabolize which results in water intoxication. Here is a link that details hyponatremia caused by water intoxication: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article… Hyponatremia can also be caused by a number of metabolic disorders, and diseases of the organs. Here is a link that discusses hyponatremia in general: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/24…

Question: Why does Lactated Ringers causes hyponatremia? Why does long term us of LR as maintenance IVF lead to hyponatremia? I know LR only has 130 mEq of sodium, but I'm not referring to large bolus of fluids, just long-term maintence. I believe it has something to do with how the body deals with the lactate in LR. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

Answer: Long-term maintenance with LR (vs. a crystalloid like NS) could be associated with hyponatremia simply because (as you know) LR has a lower [Na+] than serum (normal 135 - 145 mEq/L), so the mechanism may simply be dilutional. The standard maintenance soln. we use is 0.9% NaCl (NS, which has a [Na+] of 154 mEq/L), or NS c 20 - 40 mEq KCl/L. The decision to make changes to maintenance i.v. solutions is based on the results of bloodwork, so an understanding of the mechanisms by which the long term use of LR as a maintenance i.v. fluid may cause hyponatremia is largely academic. Anyone receiving i.v. fluids should have electrolyte monitoring such that imbalances may be empirically corrected.

Question: At what point should an elderly patient be admitted to the hospital for treatment of hyponatremia? My mother has had hyponatremia (low blood sodium) in the past. She is developing it again, with a recent blood test showing levels at 127 (normal range is >135). Can this be managed by reduction of fluid intake alone, or should she be more agressive with her doctors for treatments in the hospital?

Answer: www.emedicine.com There is lots of information on hyponatremia at this website. Type in hyponatremia in your search browser and click on the emedicine link. It will take you straight to hyponatremia.

Question: A person suffering from hyponatremia has a sodium ion concentration in the blood of 0.118 M and a total blood? volume of 4.6 L. What mass of sodium chloride would need to be added to the blood to bring the sodium ion concentration up to 0,138 M, assuming no change in blood volume?

Answer: Simonizer's calculations are correct if you are only considering the blood volume, but in reality it doesn't work like this and you'd have to add a lot more sodium. This is because sodium is not just present in the blood, it is distributed throughout the total body water (or at least it behaves as if it is). Whatever sodium you give will not stay in the blood, it will spread out throughout the water in the body. You can estimate total body water. It's usually about 60% of a man's weight or 50% of a woman's weight. So in a 70kg man that would be 42kg, which is 42L. 0.118M in 42L is 4.956 moles (the amount the patient has now) 0.138M in 42L is 5.796 moles (the amount you want the patient to have) So the man has a sodium deficit of 0.84 moles. If you give 0.84 moles of sodium chloride, this will be 49g of NaCl. (from 0.84 x 58.4, which is the molecular mass of NaCl) 49g of NaCl is approximately one litre of 5% saline.

Question: if my mouth and throat is dry does that mean I have hyponatremia? also, can you get hyponatremia from dehydration?

Answer: Isn't that a fancy way of saying not enough salt in your body in Greek? Why do you think that has anything to do with a dry mouth? (Like almost every medical diagnosis - telling the person what they already know in Greek).

Question: Does anyone know the long term implications of hyponatremia? any information will be appreciated. Thats ok Phil I am asking for a friend.

Answer: I actually have this, it is rare for someone to be alive as usually someone is dead before it is diagnosed. I was ill and then went into a coma I had been tested for drugs and alcohol only there was none in my blood, it was a young doctor who suggested the test be done and then when it was low sodium some of the drips were taken down, this is because fluids make the problem worse, some call it drowning in your own fluid others water intoxication. Normally long distance marathon runners can get it in fact 1 died last year from it. It was the same with the lady who drank the water to win a wii, she died. I have to have my blood checked every month. Symptoms are slurred speech, lost of coordination, convulsions, renal failure then death. If it is not found out like it was with me then it will be when you are sadly no longer here. I am very lucky to be here even though I have other things wrong with me unfortunately most are not as lucky. I have excellent doctors EDIT; the answer below is excellent, I also suffer from TIAs (mini strokes) so I am in a catch 22 situation that is why my blood tests are important to have done every month. To increase my sodium levels I need sodium (salt) and the worst thing for strokes is salt. I was in a coma for 11 days so I am fortunate to have great doctors. It has been suggested even though it is rare that it could be a defect from birth as I have always had problems with my blood. If you are not tested for something there is no way you know, I am very lucky. I also wear an SOS bracelet with my name, what is wrong with me and my hospital number as it is on the front of my notes.

Question: what is hyponatremia?How does we correct hyponatremia? what are the causes of hyponatremia?How does we correct hyponatrema with definite calculations.

Answer: hyponatremia is a condition in which you don't have enough sodium in your body. it is usually caused by dehydration or fluid over load in the body. since it is a deficit of a electrolyte in the body you just have to provide what is lacking. we usually give our patients a salty intravenous solution to bring the sodium back up. they are also sometimes given oxygen and may need medications for seizures if they occur. usually pretty treatable with just IV fluids