Symptoms of Hyponatremia - Causes, and Treatment

Hyponatremia Explained: Symptoms, Causes, and Management

For answering what is hyponatremia it is generally indicative of low sodium levels in your blood. Sodium is an electrolyte that is involved with maintaining several physiological reactions in your body, including regulating the amount of water in your cells. This lowering of sodium levels can occur due to several conditions in your body and can be life-threatening if not addressed on time. 
In this blog, we will learn about hyponatremia causes and the available treatments or management measures which can be taken. 

What is Hyponatremia?

The normal sodium level in your blood ranges from 135-145 milliequivalents per litre (mEq/L). If it is below this level then it generally indicates the presence of hyponatremia. As per Edelman, hyponatremia means the total solvent concentration of the body outweighs the total solute concentration. 

Thus, whenever the level of sodium decreases, it leads to problems in your body. To assess hyponatremia, the total body solute concentration is divided into two parts, which are the extracellular fluid (1/3rd) and intracellular fluids (2/3rd) part. Sodium is the major solute for the extracellular fluid, and potassium for the intracellular fluid or ICF. 

Types of Hyponatremia 

Hyponatremia in adults is not of a singular type but might have several different types. Some of the most common types of hyponatremia are as follows:

• Euvolemic Hyponatremia: It is a type which suggests an increase in the total body water, but your sodium levels stay the same.  
• Hypovolemic Hyponatremia: This happens when your body loses more water than sodium. 
• Hypervolemic Hyponatremia: This occurs when your body gains both solute and solvent, but the level of solvent (water) is generally more than solute. 

Apart from that, you may also have other types of hyponatremia like: 

• Dilutional Hyponatremia: This happens when you drink too much water that does not contain any electrolytes or salts. 
• Hypo-osmolar or (Hypotonic) Hyponatremia: Such a condition happens when you do not have enough electrolytes present in your body. 

Symptoms of Hyponatremia 

There are multiple hyponatremia symptoms which require immediate medical attention, some of them are as follows: 

• Signs of muscle cramps and weakness 
• Nausea and vomiting
• Always feeling lethargic or low energy levels are seen
• Constant headaches
• Sudden changes in mood due to loss of sodium balance

Please note that loss of proper sodium balance is very detrimental to the normal functioning of the brain. 

Thus, if you are facing any of the hyponatremia symptoms provided above, you must opt for healthcare services without fail. Not seeking medical help might lead to problems like coma and even osmotic shocks that might lead to death. 

Causes of Hyponatremia 

There are multiple reasons why sodium levels might get too low. Some of them are as follows: 

• Medications: Diuretic medications and some classes of antidepressants are known to help in water loss. This ultimately leads to a loss of salt-to-water balance as well. 
• Health Problems: Heart failure and kidney or liver diseases are known to affect the fluid in your body. Ultimately, it leads to an imbalance of TBW: TBS (Total Body Water: Total Body Solute).
•  Severe Diarrhoea or Vomiting: If you are having recurrent diarrhoea or vomiting, it can simply affect the loss of water. Such symptoms are known to cause depletion of body fluids, especially sodiumsodium. Thus, it ultimately affects the proper functioning of your body. 
• Hormonal Imbalance: Some hormones are also known to affect your body’s sodium levels. Conditions like the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone or SIADH can help you retain water. Addison’s disease is also related to specific hormonal systems that help you keep your electrolytes in check. If your thyroid hormones are too low, then your body’s sodium levels can be severely affected. 
• Overhydrating: Drinking excessive water is also known to lower the salt concentration in your body. Thus, it ultimately promotes more sweating and leads to loss of water and a faster progression towards hyponatremia symptoms. 
• Excessive Drinking (Alcohol) or Amphetamine: Alcohol is known to be a natural diuretic substance, which leads to water loss from your body. If a person has too much MDMA (Methylene-dioxy-methamphetamine), then it increases the risk of serious hyponatremia. 

High-Risk Individuals for Hyponatremia 

Anyone can develop hyponatremia, but it can happen to people who have faced: 

• Have failed kidneys 
• Dealing with congestive heart failures 
• Already facing diseases which affect the lungs, liver, and brain
• People who have conditions related to hormonal regulation of endocrine problems
• Recently had any surgeries 

Therefore, if you can associate yourself with any such conditions, it is important to stay cautious regarding sodium levels in your blood. 

Hyponatremia Diagnosis 

Hyponatremia symptoms vary from one person to another; therefore, a proper diagnosis is often helpful in controlling the symptoms. Some effective ways which help in the diagnosis of the disease are as follows: 

• Basic Metabolic Panel: This is a specific blood test that is solely targeted at understanding the concentration of sodiumsodium in the blood. 
• Blood Osmolality Test: This test is directed towards understanding the dissolved particles present in your blood. If the solute concentration is abnormal, it directly indicates imbalances in your blood. 
• Checking Urine Osmolality: This test is directed at finding out the concentration of solutes (Sodium, potassium, and Urea) in your pee. Lower osmolality results in confirming the lower blood sodium levels as well. 
• Urine Sodium Tests: These tests are performed to find out the cause of abnormal increases in sodiumsodium in the blood. This test helps confirm whether your kidneys are causing the removal of sodiumsodium from your body. 

Treatment and Management of Hyponatremia 

Hyponatremia treatment is easy, and it mostly focuses on treating the problems based on their symptoms. Depending on the severity, we have separated the course of treatment for each of the disease types: 

Mild or Moderate Symptoms 

In case you present mild to moderate symptoms of hyponatremia, the effective hyponatremia treatment involves a slow infusion of sodium chloride. A 3% infusion is generally recommended but depending on specific sodium levels, a deficit formula might be used to calculate the exact requirements. 

Severe Symptoms

 
In case you are presenting a severe symptom, it is generally good to go for hyponatremia treatment with 100mL intravenous bolus of 3% NaCl. This bolus can also be repeated twice as per requirements.

Chronic Hyponatremia 

In case you have chronic hyponatremia, solute supplements are generally provided for regularising the salt content. Loop diuretics, oral salt tablets, and potassium replacements are often recommended as effective hyponatremia treatment. 

Hyponatremia Medication

Medications are also used often to provide hyponatremia correction for symptoms like headaches, nausea, dizziness, etc. 

Final Words

If you are facing severe forms of hyponatremia it is best to seek professional consultation. Understand the main reasons behind such problems in solute concentration in your blood. Hyponatremia symptoms treatment can help you lead a perfectly normal life as well. In case you are facing such problems after starting some drugs for treating depression, etc., make sure to consult with your healthcare provider to substitute it.