A low blood sodium level is a sign that your body's concentration of electrolytes has changed. This condition, which is called hyponatremia, can lead to several dangerous health problems. Early signs of low sodium levels are difficult to diagnose, but can progress to cause brain swelling, brain damage and possibly death when left untreated. Contact a health care provider immediately if you develop signs of hyponatremia.
Water Retention
When your blood sodium levels drop below 136 millimoles per litre you may begin to develop signs of hyponatremia. The most common cause for hyponatremia is water retention brought on by either drinking excessive amounts of water or from conditions that prevent your kidneys from metabolising water properly. A mild case of hyponatremia can cause enough water retention to feel bloated, nauseous, confused and weak, as well as cause appetite loss, vomiting and headaches. Because these symptoms are typical of many health problems, mild cases of hyponatremia are difficult to identify.
Cerebral Edema
When hyponatremia causes water to enter your brain, you can develop cerebral edema. This is dangerous because it causes your brain to expand. Because your skull limits how much your brain can expand, cerebral edema increases the pressure on your brain and can lead to brain damage. When cerebral edema occurs slowly, your body has a chance to adapt and flush water back out of your brain. You are in more danger when cerebral edema progresses quickly and your body does not have time to adapt before the pressure on your brain increases.
Brain Damage
Osmotic demyelation, also called central pontine myelinolysis, is a rare form of brain damage that can follow recovery from hyponatremia. It happens when your brain shrinks back to its normal size after treatment for hyponatremia and the layer that protects your brain stem's nerve cells becomes damaged. Complications, such as damage to your nervous system and paralysis, are usually long lasting and not treatable.
Death
Death can result from extreme cases of hyponatremia that progress quickly. This is more common with patients who are recovering from surgery or people who have certain health conditions, such as kidney, heart and liver failure. Patients who are waiting for liver transplants are at a much greater risk of dying when their blood sodium levels decrease to the point of hyponatremia and they begin to retain water. Lifestyle factors, such as using the drug Ecstacy, can also increase your risk of dying from hyponatremia.
References
- Chemocare.com: Hyponatremia (Low Sodium)
- Mayo Clinic: Hyponatremia
- "Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine"; Consensus Statement of the 1st International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Development Conference, Cape Town, South Africa 2005; Tamara Hew-Butler; July 2005
- "The New England Journal of Medicine"; Hyponatremia; Horacio Adrogue et al.; May 2000
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Central Pontine Myelinolysis
- "The New England Journal of Medicine"; Hyponatremia and Mortality among Patients on the Liver-Transplant Waiting List; Ray Kim et al.; September 2008
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