Low sodium is when the sodium levels in your blood drop too low. This can cause seizures, headaches, muscle cramps, and more. Without treatment, it can lead to more serious issues, such as brain swelling or coma.
What are the dangers of low sodium?
Those include:
- Bowel diseases — People with ulcerative colitis, celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome do not absorb salt well. ...
- Adrenal insufficiency — This is also called Addison’s disease and happens when the adrenal glands do not make enough cortisol. ...
- Hypothyroidism — Thyroid hormones help control metabolism and the kidneys’ ability to resorb salt. ...
What are the side effects of low sodium levels?
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Hyponatremia
- Headache
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Irritability
- Cramping or muscle spasms
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
Can high sodium levels cause brain damage?
The body (in particular the brain) adapts to the higher sodium concentration. This can lead to cerebral edema, potentially resulting in seizures, permanent brain damage, or death. In this way, what happens when your sodium level is too high? In hypernatremia, the level of sodium in blood is too high. Hypernatremia involves dehydration, which can have many causes, including not drinking enough fluids, diarrhea, kidney dysfunction, and diuretics.
What to do if you have low sodium levels?
What to Do If You Have Low Sodium Levels?
- Causes and Symptoms. The most common causes of low sodium levels in healthy individuals are excessive sweating, vomiting and diarrhea.
- Restrict Fluid Intake. If you exhibit signs of hyponatremia, the first treatment step is to monitor fluid intake. ...
- Intravenous Fluids. ...
- Medication. ...
- Monitor Drugs. ...
Can low sodium cause mental problems?
Signs and symptoms of hyponatremia can include altered personality, lethargy and confusion. Severe hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma and even death.
How do sodium levels affect the brain?
When sodium levels in the blood are too low, extra water goes into body cells causing them to swell. This swelling can be especially dangerous for brain cells, resulting in neurological symptoms such as headache, confusion, irritability, seizures or even coma.
What are some neurological symptoms of hyponatremia?
The clinical symptoms of hyponatremia vary according to the speed of onset and the severity of electrolyte imbalance. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, beginning with weakness/confusion and progressing to seizures and alteration of consciousness (e.g. somnolence, stupor, coma)2, 8.
Can low sodium levels cause permanent brain damage?
Severe or acute hyponatraemia is dangerous because it can lead to brain swelling (cerebral oedema). This happens because low blood sodium levels allow water to move from the bloodstream into the brain cells, causing them to swell. Cerebral oedema can cause damage to the brain and permanent neurological disability.
How do you feel if your sodium is low?
Sodium is an electrolyte that plays an essential role in regulating levels of water and other substances in the body. When sodium levels in the blood become too low, it leads to hyponatremia, causing symptoms that include lethargy, confusion, and fatigue.
What is a dangerously low sodium level?
Any value below 135 mEq/L is considered to be a low sodium level, a condition medically referred to as hyponatremia. As sodium levels drop to 125 mEq/L, the situation becomes more serious. And when the sodium level drops to 115 mEq/L or below, the situation is critical and requires immediate treatment.
Which organ is most affected by hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia occurs when your blood sodium level goes below 135 mEq/L. 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.
What is the most severe complication of hyponatremia?
In acute hyponatremia, cerebral edema and brain herniation are the most serious clinical manifestations (69, 70). Nonspecific symptoms like nausea, vomiting and headache can rapidly progress to seizure and respiratory arrest. Early detection and rapid management are key factors in preventing this dreaded complication.
What are the long term effects of low sodium?
In particular, the consequences of acute hyponatremia on the brain may be severe, including permanent disability and death. Also chronic hyponatremia can affect the health status, causing attention deficit, gait instability, increased risk of falls and fractures, and osteoporosis.
Are the effects of low sodium reversible?
Thus, these results suggest chronic hyponatremia in humans may cause gait disturbance and cognitive impairment, but these abnormalities are reversible and careful correction of this condition may improve quality of life and reduce mortality. Hyponatremia is the most common clinical electrolyte disorder.
Will eating salt help hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia and Excess Water "Usually, it has pretty much nothing to do with salt." The excess water dilutes the sodium, resulting in a lower concentration of sodium in the blood.
How long are you in hospital for low sodium?
Patients with hyponatremia had a hospital stay of 7.6 days compared with 5.6 days for those with normonatremia, a significant difference between the groups.
Can low sodium cause brain swelling?
Neurologic changes are the most concerning consequence of hyponatremia. Cerebral edema (excess fluid in the brain, leading to swelling) may occur with severe or acute hyponatremia. Water enters the brain cells causing them to swell.
What are the long term effects of low sodium?
In particular, the consequences of acute hyponatremia on the brain may be severe, including permanent disability and death. Also chronic hyponatremia can affect the health status, causing attention deficit, gait instability, increased risk of falls and fractures, and osteoporosis.
Can low sodium cause anxiety?
Electrolyte Imbalance If you have really high or low levels of electrolytes like sodium or potassium, it can cause anxiety or panic-like symptoms. These include shortness of breath, confusion, and rapid heartbeat.
Can low sodium cause a stroke?
Published in The Lancet, the study found that low salt, or sodium, intake may raise the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death, compared with an average salt intake.
What causes low sodium levels?
There are a few medical illnesses that can result in low sodium levels, including hormonal issues and brain injuries. Typically, hormonal issues develop slowly, and the sodium level can be corrected gradually before it causes any serious problems.
Why is my sodium level low?
Causes. Low sodium can result from lifestyle factors and medical conditions. There are several hormonal issues that can cause low sodium. Lifestyle issues, related to sodium or fluid intake or to excessive sweating can affect sodium levels as well.
What causes SIADH?
In SIADH, ADH causes the body to hold on to too much water, which makes the sodium concentration too low. 6 . Lung problems like cancer may cause SIADH, as can many drugs like Tegretol (carbamazepine) and Elavil (amitriptyline) .
What happens if you eat too much salt?
Your body needs dietary iodine to make thyroid hormones. When you have low sodium due to dietary restriction, you are likely to have symptoms of hypothyroidism too.
How long does it take for salt to go down?
It can take weeks or months for you to experience the effects of low salt in your diet—and these effects can be corrected by just one day of normal salt intake. However, when sodium levels rapidly decline, which can happen due to certain medical issues, you may experience serious health effects that can worsen rapidly.
What are the symptoms of low sodium?
Symptoms of low sodium may include: 2 . Headaches. Nausea and vomiting. Fatigue.
How long does salt wasting last?
However, it can occasionally last for a longer time period, even lasting for several years.
How does the brain adapt to hyponatremia?
Another step of brain cell adaptation to hyponatremia involves movement of electrolytes from inside the cell to the extracellular compartment. Within the first hours of hyponatremia, there is a significant decrease in the intracellular content of sodium, chloride, and potassium. 31, 35 The kinetics of brain electrolytes depletion during acute hyponatremia revealed that after 3 hours of hyponatremia, brain depletion in electrolytes reaches a plateau, and the depletion of sodium is believed to be primarily from the CSF, which occurs together with intracellular depletion of chloride faster than the intracellular depletion of potassium. 30 The total brain ion depletion is roughly similar (∼18%) within a large range of hyponatremia (72−116 mEq/l), which strongly suggests the brain can lose no more than 18% of its ion content. Because of this limited nature of the electrolyte depletion of the brain, it is excepted that by the time the mechanisms behind electrolyte loss are exhausted, severe continued hyponatremia will inevitably cause significant brain edema. There are 2 pieces of evidence here to consider. On the one hand, it has clearly been shown experimentally and observed in clinical practice that the occurrence of severe hyponatremia within few hours will cause death from brain swelling. 36 (One of the first reports of evidence of brain edema secondary to hypo-osmolality occurred in a patient who underwent proctoclysis after an uneventful cholecystectomy who started to develop severe neurological symptoms 12 hours after the surgery and later succumbed from brain edema.37) On the other hand, when hyponatremia develops slowly, experimentally and in humans, even to a level of <100 mEq/l, there is no brain edema or immediately increased mortality. 38 This apparently contradictory evidence can be reconciled if one considers that there are other mechanisms, not yet active during acute hyponatremia, that help to prevent brain edema when hyponatremia becomes chronic.
How much does the brain water content increase after hyponatremia?
For instance, after 6 hours of hyponatremia, the brain only increases by 40% of what is predicted, and after 4 days of hyponatremia, there is only a 0.6% of increase in the brain water content. 30 These observations point to the fact that the brain possesses some defense mechanisms that minimize organ swelling upon plasma hypotonicity.
What is hyponatremia in electrolytes?
Hyponatremia is defined by low serum sodium concentration and is the most common electrolyte disorder encountered in clinical practice. Serum sodium is the main determinant of plasma osmolality, which, in turn, affects cell volume. In the presence of low extracellular osmolality, cells will swell if the adaptation mechanisms involved in ...
How does HNE affect the brain?
The most striking and severe symptoms of HNE are related to the compression of the brain parenchyma against the rigid skull. In severe cases, brain herniation and death often occurs preceded by seizures and coma.59 As discussed earlier, these symptoms often occur during acute and profound hyponatremia because the brain has no or little time to adjust to hypo-osmolality. Severe symptoms can also occur after acute on chronic hyponatremia, or even after moderate acute hyponatremia. For instance, marathon runners with moderate hyponatremia were reported to experience nausea and vomiting, and sometimes acute confusion, which were treated effectively by correction of SNa.60 The largest series of patients studied with HNE revealed that acute severe hyponatremia might be fatal, with abrupt respiratory arrest in up to 60% of cases, but prompt reversal of the prognosis can occur with correction of SNa. 61
What causes demyelinative brain lesions?
Several factors contribute to the apparition of demyelinative brain lesions upon correction of chronic hyponatremia. It was initially suggested that BBB breakdown allowed invasion of the brain parenchyma with myelinolytic substances, including cytokines and complement factors. 90 Microglial activation was also suggested to play a role. 87, 88 Recent reports clearly established that one of the first events after rapid correction of chronic hyponatremia is astrocyte damage. 83 It was further demonstrated that rapid correction of chronic hyponatremia induces protein aggregation in astrocytes, together with unfolded protein response and an exaggerated endoplasmic reticulum stress that will culminate into astrocyte death.85 These events occur before any histological evidence of myelin damage, and they all take place in regions prone to demyelination. The relationship between astrocyte death and myelin breakdown is explained by the fact that astrocytes provide trophic support to oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes are required for maintenance of normal myelin. Figure 2 illustrates the current knowledge on the pathophysiology of the disease.
What is the term for the neurological dysfunction observed during hyponatremia?
Hyponatremic encephalopathy (HNE) refers to the neurological dysfunction observed during hyponatremia. The clinical manifestations of HNE are related to the brain adaptation capacities to a hypo-osmotic challenge.
Why do cells swell in hyponatremia?
In the presence of low extracellular osmolality, cells will swell if the adaptation mechanisms involved in the cell volume maintenance are inadequate. The most dramatic effects of hyponatremia on the brain are seen when serum sodium concentration decreases in a short period, allowing little or no adaptation.
What happens if you have low sodium?
Seek immediate medical care (call 911) if you have serious symptoms of low sodium, such as a change in mental status (con fusion or hallucinations ); a change in level of consciousness, ...
What are the potential complications of low sodium?
Complications of untreated or poorly controlled low sodium can be serious, even life threatening in some cases. You can help minimize your risk of serious complications by following the treatment plan you and your health care provider design specifically for you. Complications of low sodium include:
What are the risk factors for low sodium?
A number of factors increase the risk of developing low sodium. Not all people with risk factors will get low sodium. Risk factors for low sodium include:
What are the three types of hyponatremia?
Electrolytes are critical for proper functioning of all body systems. There are three types of hyponatremia: euvolemic, hypervolemic and hypovolemic. Euvolemic hyponatremia occurs when your body’s water content is normal but your sodium level declines. Hypervolemic hypona tremia is when water is increased relative to sodium levels.
What causes low sodium levels?
A number of medical conditions or circumstances can lead to low sodium levels including: Adrenal gland disease. Burns. Certain medications such as diuretics. Cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver. Congestive heart failure.
How do you know if you have low sodium?
Common symptoms of low sodium. You may experience low sodium symptoms daily or just once in a while. At times any of these low sodium symptoms can be severe: Abdominal pain or cramping. Bloating. Body aches. Changes in mood, personality or behavior. Difficulty with memory, thinking, talking, comprehension, reading or writing.
Why is my sodium level low?
There are several common causes of low sodium, including diarrhea, excessive sweating, and vomiting. Medications that are prescribed to treat high blood pressure or fluid retention, called diuretics, can lead to low sodium levels.
What causes low sodium levels in the body?
Dehydration, heart, kidney and liver problems, and hormonal changes brought on by Addison’s disease, which affects your body’s ability to maintain the proper balance of sodium, potassium and water, can also cause low sodium.
Why is sodium low in blood?
The most common causes for low blood sodium are diuretic medications used to treat high blood pressure, antidepressants and pain medications that can interfere with the normal hormonal and kidney functions.
What is the normal sodium level in the blood?
A normal blood sodium level is between 135 and 145 milliequivalents per liter. When the sodium in your blood falls below 135, a condition known as hyponatremia occurs, which can lead to numerous complications, ranging from loss of energy, confusion, muscle weakness and nausea to more serious issues such as seizures, coma and even death.
Why is sodium important?
But, in fact, managing your sodium level so that it doesn’t drop below the acceptable range is equally important as not letting your level get too high. Sodium helps maintain normal blood pressure, supports nerves and muscles and regulates the body’s fluid balance.
Why does sodium drop?
A sudden and significant drop in sodium level could also be due to Syndrome of Inappropriate Anti-Diuretic Hormone (SIADH), which causes the body to retain water instead of excreting it normally in the urine. Physical stress after a surgery or trauma can cause SIADH.
How to manage blood sodium levels?
Blood sodium level is best managed by treating any associated conditions, such as adrenal gland insufficiency, by taking precautions during high-intensity activities, by drinking sports beverages during demanding workouts and by drinking water in moderation during such times.
Can a rapid brain drop cause memory loss?
A rapid, acute drop can lead to temporary brain cell dysfunction, including memory loss, Dr. Messina said. “If it happens over a day or two, you can usually reverse it pretty quickly and get the patient feeling normal.”
What is the most common electrolyte disorder?
Hyponatremia is the most common clinical electrolyte disorder. Once thought to be asymptomatic in response to adaptation by the brain, recent evidence suggests that chronic hyponatremia may be linked to attention deficits, gait disturbances, risk of falls, and cognitive impairments.
Is hyponatremia asymptomatic or asymptomatic?
Once thought to be asymptomatic in response to adaptation by the brain, recent evidence suggests that chronic hyponatremia may be linked to attention deficits, gait disturbances, risk of falls, and cognitive impairments. Such neurologic …. Hyponatremia is the most common clinical electrolyte disorder. Once thought to be asymptomatic in response ...
Is hyponatremia a neurologic disorder?
Hyponatremia is the most common clinical electrolyte disorder. Once thought to be asymptomatic in response to adaptation by the brain, recent evidence suggests that chronic hyponatremia may be linked to attention deficits, gait disturbances, risk of falls, and cognitive impairments. Such neurologic defects are associated with a reduction in quality of life and may be a significant cause of mortality. However, because underlying diseases such as adrenal insufficiency, heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and cancer may also affect brain function, the contribution of hyponatremia alone to neurologic manifestations and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using a syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone rat model, we show here that sustained reduction of serum sodium ion concentration induced gait disturbances; facilitated the extinction of a contextual fear memory; caused cognitive impairment in a novel object recognition test; and impaired long-term potentiation at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses. In vivo microdialysis revealed an elevated extracellular glutamate concentration in the hippocampus of chronically hyponatremic rats. A sustained low extracellular sodium ion concentration also decreased glutamate uptake by primary astrocyte cultures, suggesting an underlying mechanism of impaired long-term potentiation. Furthermore, gait and memory performances of corrected hyponatremic rats were equivalent to those of control rats. Thus, these results suggest chronic hyponatremia in humans may cause gait disturbance and cognitive impairment, but these abnormalities are reversible and careful correction of this condition may improve quality of life and reduce mortality.
Does hyponatremia affect the brain?
However, because underlying diseases such as adrenal insufficiency, heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and cancer may also affect brain function, the contribution of hyponatremia alone to neurologic manifestations and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
What happens when the sodium in your blood is abnormally low?
Hyponatremia occurs when the concentration of sodium in your blood is abnormally low. Sodium is an electrolyte, and it helps regulate the amount of water that's in and around your cells.
What causes sodium to be lowered?
Heart, kidney and liver problems. Congestive heart failure and certain diseases affecting the kidneys or liver can cause fluids to accumulate in your body, which dilutes the sodium in your body, lowering the overall level. Syndrome of inappropriate anti-diuretic hormone (SIADH).
What is the normal sodium level?
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. Many possible conditions and lifestyle factors can lead to hyponatremia, including: Certain medications. Some medications, such as some water pills (diuretics), ...
How to prevent low sodium?
Getting treatment for conditions that contribute to hyponatremia, such as adrenal gland insufficiency, can help prevent low blood sodium. Educate yourself. If you have a medical condition that increases your risk of hyponatremia or you take diuretic medications, be aware of the signs and symptoms of low blood sodium.
Why does my body lose sodium?
Chronic, severe vomiting or diarrhea and other causes of dehydration. This causes your body to lose electrolytes, such as sodium, and also increases ADH levels. Drinking too much water. Drinking excessive amounts of water can cause low sodium by overwhelming the kidneys' ability to excrete water.
Why do older people have hyponatremia?
Older adults may have more contributing factors for hyponatremia, including age-related changes, taking certain medications and a greater likelihood of developing a chronic disease that alters the body's sodium balance.
How long does it take for sodium to drop?
In chronic hyponatremia, sodium levels drop gradually over 48 hours or longer — and symptoms and complications are typically more moderate. In acute hyponatremia, sodium levels drop rapidly — resulting in potentially dangerous effects, such as rapid brain swelling, which can result in a coma and death.
What happens if your sodium level is too low?
When sodium gets too low, a variety of symptoms result—from headache to fatigue to brain damage. Normally, your body is fairly adept at preventing dangerously low serum sodium. All the time, specialized neurons called osmoreceptors are measuring the osmolality of your blood. (Osmolality simply refers to the balance of water ...
What is the ramification of sodium deficiency?
One ramification of severe sodium deficiency, for instance, is a profound swelling of the brain. This unhappy condition is called cerebral edema.
What Causes Hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia is a medical condition of low serum sodium. Early symptoms of hyponatremia include fatigue, nausea, headaches, muscle cramps, and malaise. As sodium levels continue to fall, the patient may become confused, suffer seizures, or in severe cases, die.
What happens when osmolality is low?
When osmolality gets too low (i.e., when sodium levels drop), the osmoreceptors tell your brain to stop secreting antidiuretic hormone (ADH). Less ADH means you pee out more fluid, and the concentration of sodium in your blood is restored. But sometimes, the situation changes too fast for your body to keep up.
What do neurons do in the brain?
That’s right. In the brain. Brain cells, also called neurons, rely on electrolytes (especially sodium and potassium) to talk with one another. In the case of electrolyte deficiency, this crosstalk gets compromised. But electrolytes don’t just conduct electrical charges. They also regulate fluid balance, or the amount of water inside ...
How much potassium should I take for Alzheimer's?
(High blood pressure damages microvessels in the brain). For this and other reasons, I recommend folks strive to get 4.7 grams per day of potassium (the RDA) from food and supplements.
Which electrolyte is the most important for the brain?
While sodium is the key electrolyte for brain function, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium deserve a mention too.
What are the risks of low sodium?
having heart failure, kidney disease, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), or other conditions. If you’re at risk for low sodium, you may need to be more careful about your intake of electrolytes and water.
What does it mean when your sodium is low?
The results of this test will help your doctor determine the cause of your low blood sodium: If your blood sodium levels are low but your urine sodium levels are high, your body is losing too much sodium. Low sodium levels in both your blood and your urine mean your body isn’t taking in enough sodium. There may also be too much water in your body.
What is the sodium level in your blood?
In other words, there’s either too much water or not enough sodium in your blood. Normally, your sodium level should be between 135 and 145 milliequivalents per liter.
How to prevent low sodium levels?
Prevention of low blood sodium. Keeping your water and electrolyte levels in balance can help prevent low blood sodium. If you’re an athlete, it’s important to drink the right amount of water during exercise. You should also consider drinking rehydration beverages like Gatorade or Powerade.
Why is sodium important?
Sodium is an essential electrolyte that helps maintain the balance of water in and around your cells. It’s important for proper muscle and nerve function. It also helps maintain stable blood pressure levels. Insufficient sodium in your blood is also known as hyponatremia. It occurs when water and sodium are out of balance.
What happens if your sodium levels drop?
If they drop very quickly, your symptoms may be more severe. Losing sodium quickly is a medical emergency. It can cause loss of consciousness, seizures, and coma. Common symptoms of low blood sodium include: weakness. fatigue or low energy.
What is the best way to check for low sodium?
A blood test can help your doctor check for low sodium levels. Even if you don’t have symptoms of low blood sodium, your doctor may order a basic metabolic panel. This tests the amounts of electrolytes and minerals in your blood. A basic metabolic panel is often part of a routine physical.
Symptoms of Hyponatremia
Causes
- Low sodium can result from lifestyle factors and medical conditions that affect the balance of water and/or sodium in the body.
Diagnosis
- Hyponatremia is diagnosed with a physical exam, laboratory tests, and a review of your medical history. Central to the diagnosis is a blood test that measures the concentration of sodium in your blood. The levels are measured in milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L) and classified as follow: 1. Normal: 135 to 145 mEq/L 2. Hyponatremia: Under 135 mEq/L 3. Severe hyponatremia: Under 12…
Treatment Options
- The treatment of hyponatremia can be simple at times and challenging at others. The treatment is often based on the slow and careful replacement of sodium in the body, as well as the management of the underlying cause of hyponatremia.
Summary
- Hyponatremia is abnormally low levels of sodium in the blood. Oftentimes a person with hyponatremia will have no symptoms if sodium levels are mildly decreased. When sodium levels drop significantly, hyponatremia can cause headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, and difficulty concentrating. Severe cases can lead to seizures or coma. Hy...
A Word from Verywell
- Hyponatremia has many causes, some of which are more serious than others. If you have symptoms of hyponatremia, it's important to see a doctor. The cause may be due to dietary issues that can be easily resolved, but the symptoms may also be the first sign of a serious medical condition.