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. ...
What are the signs of low sodium levels?
Low blood sodium, or hyponatremia, occurs when water and sodium are out of balance in your body. It can cause weakness, headache, nausea, and muscle cramps.
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
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 causes sodium levels to be low?
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.
What happens if you are low on sodium?
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.
How do you fix a low sodium?
Options include:Intravenous fluids. Your doctor may recommend IV sodium solution to slowly raise the sodium levels in your blood. ... Medications. You may take medications to manage the signs and symptoms of hyponatremia, such as headaches, nausea and seizures.
What does low sodium in a blood test mean?
Sodium blood test results that are lower than normal may be a sign of a condition, such as: A loss of sodium from diarrhea or vomiting. A condition that may cause the body to hold onto extra fluid (which dilutes sodium), including: Kidney diseases. Cirrhosis of the liver.
Should I eat more salt if my sodium is low?
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.
How can I boost my sodium levels?
There are many natural ways to regulate sodium levels in blood.Coconut water: Coconut water is profuse with electrolytes and is good for dehydration. ... Banana: Banana for its rich potassium content could prove to be very effective to regulate your dipping sodium levels. ... Cheese: 100g of cheese contains 215mg of sodium.More items...•
What drink is high in sodium?
Hot cocoa from a mix, prepared with water, contains 232 milligrams of sodium, and flavored instant coffee contains 124 milligrams. Some fruit drinks can have a relatively high amount of sodium, too -- canned orange juice contains 77 milligrams and canned lemonade has 60 milligrams.
How long does it take to correct low sodium?
The rate of sodium correction should be 6 to 12 mEq per L in the first 24 hours and 18 mEq per L or less in 48 hours. An increase of 4 to 6 mEq per L is usually sufficient to reduce symptoms of acute hyponatremia.
Can drinking salt water increase sodium level?
Whether you're swimming in the ocean or drinking salt water as part of a fad diet, swallowing too much of the liquid can have serious health consequences. The human body was built to handle just small amounts of sodium, and salt overload can cause levels to skyrocket.
Will eating salt help hyponatremia?
In elderly patients with a diet poor in protein and sodium, hyponatremia may be worsened by their low solute intake. The kidney's need to excrete solutes aids in water excretion. An increase in dietary protein and salt can help improve water excretion.
What medications cause low sodium?
Known offenders include acetazolamide, amiloride, amphotericin, aripiprazole, atovaquone, thiazide diuretics, amiodarone, basiliximab, angiotensin II receptor blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, bromocriptine, carbamazepine, carboplatin, carvedilol, celecoxib, cyclophosphamide, clofibrate, desmopressin, ...
What is the best medicine for low sodium?
Tolvaptan (Samsca) is used to treat hyponatremia (low levels of sodium in the blood) in people who have heart failure (condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to all parts of the body), syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH; condition in which the body produces too much of a certain ...
What level of sodium is dangerously low?
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 drink is high in sodium?
Vegetable Juices Another high-sodium option for beverages is vegetable juice. Each 8-ounce glass of regular tomato juice has 878 milligrams of sodium, and the same amount of vegetable juice cocktail has 887 milligrams.
What is the best source of sodium?
Top Sources of Sodium1Sandwiches.Cold cuts and cured meats.Soups.Burritos and tacos.Savory snacks*Chicken.Cheese.Eggs and Omelets.More items...
How do you know if you need more salt?
Headaches. Your nervous system requires sodium to function and when the levels of sodium drop, it can lead to severe headaches.Nausea and vomiting. This is your body's way of getting rid of the excess water which is causing an imbalance in the sodium level.Confusion. ... Fatigue. ... Muscle weakness and cramps.
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.
How to treat low sodium?
It may include: cutting back on fluid intake. adjusting the dosage of diuretics. taking medications for symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and seizures. treating underlying conditions.
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.
What does it mean when your sodium level is low?
When your blood test shows that you have lower levels of sodium, it means you have hyponatremia. Ideally, your sodium level should be between 135 mEq/L and 145 mEq/L. You develop hyponatremia when your sodium level is below 135 mEq/L. Without enough sodium, it is not possible for your body to maintain the balance of water in and around your cells. ...
What Causes Low Blood Sodium?
Now that you know the answer to your question "what does low sodium mean", it is equally important to understand exactly what cause hyponatremia. Here are some of the most common causes:
What causes hyponatremia in the body?
Drinking water is good for your health but too much of it will lower the concentration of sodium in your body. 2. Medications. You may develop hyponatremia if you are taking medications such as antidepressants, diuretics, and pain medications that make you urinate more than normal. 3. SIADH.
Why is sodium important in life?
Life processes are chemical reactions and sodium helps complete those process es because it is the most positively charged ion in your body's fluids and tissues. Those life processes take place at the cellular level, and without sodium, processes in your muscle and nerve cells may fail to complete. Sodium also affects your body's ability ...
What does adrenal insufficiency do to your body?
Adrenal gland insufficiency can affect the way your adrenal glands produce hormones to maintain a balance of potassium, sodium, and water. You may experience the same because of low levels of thyroid hormone. 6. Other Medical Disorders.
Why is it so hard to get rid of sodium in your body?
Congestive heart failure and many other diseases that affect your liver or kidneys may make it difficult for your body to get rid of excess fluid, which lowers the concentration of sodium in your body and causes hyponatremia.
Why is sodium important for blood pressure?
Sodium is vital for proper nerve and muscle function. And it helps regulate your blood pressure.
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?
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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), ...
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.
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).
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 is the definition of low sodium?
Sodium is an electrolyte that plays an essential role in regulating the levels of water and other substances in the body. The definition of a low sodium level is below 135 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L) .
How to diagnose low sodium levels?
To diagnose low sodium levels, a doctor will take a medical history, perform a physical examination, and order a blood test. If the blood test shows low sodium levels, the doctor will typically need to perform additional tests to determine the cause.
What is hyponatremia in the body?
Diagnosis. Treatment. Prevention. Takeaway. Hyponatremia occurs when sodium levels in the blood are too low. Symptoms include lethargy, confusion, and fatigue. It can result from underlying conditions, such as kidney failure, or other factors, such as drinking too much water or taking certain medications. Sodium is an electrolyte that plays an ...
What is the most common electrolyte disorder?
As the condition worsens, people may experience symptoms, such as: Severe hyponatremia occurs when levels drop below 125 mEq/L. Health issues arising from extremely low sodium levels may be fatal. Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder that doctors encounter.
How to get sodium levels back to normal?
adjusting medication dose or switching medications. Individuals with severe symptoms often require hospitalization and an intravenous (IV) sodium treatment to get their sodium levels back to normal. They may also require drugs to treat seizures or other hyponatremia symptoms.
What causes sodium levels to fall?
Other medical conditions and factors that can cause sodium levels to fall include: syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion (SIADH) People with SIADH produce excessive levels of the anti-diuretic hormone (ADH), which can lower sodium levels.
How to restore sodium levels?
Those who have mild to moderate hyponatremia resulting from lifestyle factors or medication may be able to increase sodium to normal levels by: drinking less fluids (often less than 1 quart per day) adjusting medication dose or switching medications.
What does it mean when you have low sodium?
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. Low blood sodium is common in older adults, especially those who are hospitalized or living in long-term care facilities.
What are the causes of hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia is more common in older adults because they're more likely to take medications or have medical conditions that put them at risk of the disorder. These risk factors include: 1 Drugs that make you urinate more (diuretics) 2 Some types of antidepressants 3 Carbamazepine, an anti-seizure medication 4 Underactive thyroid or adrenal glands 5 Decreased function of the kidneys, liver or heart 6 Certain cancers, including lung cancer 7 Certain illnesses, such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections, that can cause dehydration
How to treat hyponatremia?
Hyponatremia treatments may include changing a medication that affects your sodium level, treating the underlying disease, changing the amount of water you drink or changing the amount of salt in your diet.
Why is hyponatremia more common in older adults?
Hyponatremia is more common in older adults because they're more likely to take medications or have medical conditions that put them at risk of the disorder. These risk factors include: Drugs that make you urinate more (diuretics) Some types of antidepressants. Carbamazepine, an anti-seizure medication.
Why is my sodium level low?
Causes and Symptoms. The most common causes of low sodium levels in healthy individuals are excessive sweating, vomiting and diarrhea. If you take diuretics regularly you are also at risk of developing low sodium levels. Illnesses that may cause hyponatremia include liver cirrhosis, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.
What are the symptoms of low sodium?
The symptoms of low sodium levels include a headache that gets progressively worse, hallucinations, confusion, fatigue, irritability nausea and vomiting. You may also experience muscle cramps, spasms and weakness. Advertisement.
What is the best way to stabilize sodium levels?
Intravenous Fluids. Intravenous fluids in the form of isotonic saline are used to treat more severe cases of low sodium levels. An isotonic saline solution has a similar concentration of saline, or salt, as the concentration of saline in body fluids. This helps stabilize sodium levels.
How to treat hyponatremia?
Restrict Fluid Intake. If you exhibit signs of hyponatremia, the first treatment step is to monitor fluid intake. Individuals should not consume more than 1.5 liters of fluids daily when suffering from hyponatremia. This allows the body to balance sodium levels.
Is low sodium dangerous?
Low sodium levels can be dangerous and require treatment by a professional. Low sodium levels, or hyponatremia, can lead to confusion, a coma or even death. It is the most common electrolyte disorder in the United States, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
What causes low sodium levels in the blood?
Conditions that cause low sodium levels in the blood usually also cause decreased levels of chloride, per the U.S. National Library of Medicine. In addition, hypochloremia can result from metabolic alkalosis or chronic respiratory acidosis, conditions that affect the acidity level of the blood, Dr. Weiner says.
What are the symptoms of hyponatremia?
The Mayo Clinic recommends you seek emergency medical attention right away if you experience any of the severe symptoms of hyponatremia, such as: 1 Nausea 2 Vomiting 3 Confusion 4 Seizures or loss of consciousness
How to measure sodium and chloride levels?
Sodium and chloride levels can be measured through a blood test. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, normal blood sodium levels are between 135 to 145 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L). When levels fall lower than that, it is called hyponatremia. Advertisement.
What are the health conditions that can cause hyponatremia?
Download the MyPlate app to do the job, so you can stay focused and achieve your goals! A range of health conditions can cause hyponatremia, according to the Mayo Clinic, including: Heart, kidney and liver problems. Hormonal problems like Addison's disease or thyroid problems.
Can you get hyponatremia from losing sodium?
Less commonly, hyponatremia can occur if you lose a large amount of sodium from your body. "People who are at risk of hyponatremia are people who, for whatever reason, are either taking in a whole lot of water or people who can't get rid of water," explains Daniel Weiner, MD, FASN, an associate professor at Tufts University School ...
Can burns cause hyponatremia?
People with burns across a large area of the body may also develop hyponatremia as well, notes the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Advertisement. Certain medications can also lead to low blood sodium levels, including some antidepressants, MDMA (Ecstasy), pain medications and thiazide diuretics, which are commonly used to treat high blood ...
Can thiazide cause low sodium?
Certain medications can also lead to low blood sodium levels, including some antidepressants, MDMA (Ecstasy), pain medications and thiazide diuretics, which are commonly used to treat high blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
