Hyponatremia
From Kidney Cancer Resource
Contents |
Overview
See also Sodium
See also Hypernatremia
Too Little Sodium
In Hyponatremia, the level of sodium in the blood is too low. Hyponatremia occurs when sodium has been overdiluted in the body. Sodium can be overdiluted when people drink enormous amounts of water—as people with certain psychiatric disorders occasionally do—or when people who are hospitalized receive large amounts of water intravenously. In either case, the amount of fluid taken in exceeds the kidneys' capacity to eliminate the excess. Intake of smaller amounts of water—sometimes as little as 1 quart a day—can lead to hyponatremia in people whose kidneys are not functioning normally, such as people with kidney failure. Hyponatremia also often occurs in people with heart failure or cirrhosis. Excessive chronic loss of fluids, as occurs with chronic diarrhea, can also result in hyponatremia.
Another cause of hyponatremia is the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). People who have SIADH have a low sodium level because the pituitary gland secretes too much antidiuretic hormone. Hyponatremia also occurs in people who have underactive adrenal glands (Adrenal Gland Disorders: Addison's Disease) and who thus excrete too much sodium in the urine.
When the sodium level in the blood falls quickly, symptoms tend to develop rapidly and be more severe. The brain is particularly sensitive to changes in the sodium level in the blood. Therefore, symptoms such as lethargy and confusion occur first. As hyponatremia becomes more severe, muscle twitching and seizures may occur; stupor, coma, and death may follow. The diagnosis of hyponatremia is made by measuring the sodium level in the blood. Determining the cause of hyponatremia is more difficult and requires a full assessment by a doctor.
Mild hyponatremia can be treated by restricting fluid intake to less than 1 quart per day. Severe hyponatremia is an emergency. To treat it, doctors slowly increase the level of sodium in the blood with drugs, intravenous fluids, or sometimes both. Increasing the level too rapidly can result in severe and often permanent brain damage.
References
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