Even though it is 1pm, my hours are so screwy that this is like 8am to me. So, if my thoughts are a bit jumbled this is why.
Today, I wanted to discuss WHO gets hyponatremia. This information was startling when I first read about it because it really isn’t a matter of who will get it but WHEN.
I already posted previously a research study regarding a Toronto, Canada hospital that found 38% of patients were admitted for hyponatremia and another 38% develop hyponatremia if they are hospitalized longer than a day. Shocking.
I am currently trying to obtain information from my local hospitals about the number of patients that are admitted or develop hyponatremia each year. Of course, I’m meeting obstacles in obtaining this information. No one seems to know who to contact, but if I ever receive the information, I will be certain to post it.
So who is impacted by hyponatremia, who are the people most at risk?
It can occur in persons who have the flu due to vomiting and diarrhea (also with bulimics).
Those who are athletes (esp. marathon runners). I want to stress that it is not uncommon for athletes to be misdiagnosed with heat stroke or dehydration when it is actually hyponatremia. This is really scary because the hospitals will treat these patients with fluids and the increase of fluids will actually drop their sodium levels further!!!! Please if you are ever in a situation in which you have just completed vigorous, long lasting activities, and you develop the symptoms of hyponatremia, be certain they check your sodium levels before they administer fluids!!!
Chemotherapy recipients are also at an additional risk. Now, this information comes from my ICU nurse that treated me. I honestly can’t remember her name, but she explained to me that they will get chemotherapy patients who develop low sodium levels because they are not able to handle eating or drinking without vomiting. She said it happened frequently.
Alcoholics who are quitting “cold turkey” are at extremely high risk for developing hyponatremia, and further more they are at even greater risk for developing CPM. I know several people who developed CPM that were former alcoholics. It seems to be that it isn’t when they consume large amounts of alcohol that causes the problem, but when they are “drying out”.
I really think more research needs to be done on this.It would be interesting to find out if developing hangovers have anything to do with hyponatremia.
Alcohol impacts the hormone, ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) which is released from your pituitary. ADH controls your fluid out put, i.e. how much you pee. Alcohol decreases the amount of ADH released from the pituitary which signals to the kidney’s that you are going to release more sodium from your system. Where sodium goes, water follows. Drinking alcohol causes you to pee a lot. I’ve been told that this causes your brain to shrink due to dehydration and you develop headaches. However, this would contradict what is known to happen when sodium levels drop. When blood sodium levels drop, your brain cells swell, and one of the major symptoms of hyponatremia is severe headache. Interesting, right?
Obviously, research really needs to be done to understand why people get hangovers but also the relationship between low sodium and persons who consume vast amounts of alcohol.
Persons who drink large volumes of water are also at an extremely high risk for hyponatremia. Let me stress that water is dangerous if you consume too much. I think, it’s called water toxicity. You dilute your blood electrolyte levels to a non-functioning capacity. This is why if you participate in vigorous training, exercise, running, swimming, etc, you should consume a product like Gatorade or even sodas (but I highly recommend sports drinks because they not only have sodium but other electrolytes like potassium). There is a certain type of psychological disorder where people consume large amounts of water. These persons are at frequent risk for hyponatremia.
It can also be caused by certain blood pressure medications (diuretics) can induce hyponatremia. Here’s the really scary thing regarding this, you might be on the diuretic for Years and never have an issue, but then one day, with no warning, it causes you to develop hyponatremia.
My GP described an incidence of this with one of his older patients. The person had been taking a certain diuretic blood pressure medication for over TEN years, and then one day developed severe hyponatremia!!! The only determined cause was her BP medication.
There is strong incidence of persons who have heart failure, kidney disease, and liver disease to develop low sodium.
The elderly and the very young are also at great risk. Isn’t that the case with everything?
(Addendum: I recently found out from my local children’s hospital that it is pretty common and devastating for infants. They develop hyponatremia because in this depressed economy families are watering down formula to conserve costs. The watering down effects impacts the electrolyte balances in infants and leads to hyponatremia. It was mentioned that this is a huge issues in Kentucky. I’ve raised two children. One of which received infants formula, I had no idea that this was potential threat. I am so relieved that I was never in the position where I had to dilute formula to save money, but I am certain this occurs a lot. The representative also warned that if an infant or child developed hyponatremia, they were at greater risk for death or brain damage. It was not stated if this was because of CPM/EPM or hyponatremia itself. If you or someone you loved is in this situation, please inform them of this risk! ).
So, at this point, you might be wondering who DOESN’T have a high risk for hyponatremia? That is precisely my point. Hyponatermia is very common, and it is absolutely necessary for people to become more aware of this condition and the proper treatment.
Some basic symptoms of hyponatremia: Muscle cramps, severe headache, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, confusion, delirium, hallucinations, and coma.