Normal serum sodium levels fall within a clinical range of 135 to 145 mEq/L. Health care professionals diagnose hyponatremia, or low serum sodium levels, when your blood levels of sodium fall below this range. Hyponatremia is potentially dangerous, particularly when extreme, and can be fatal in some circumstances. Therefore, understanding the types of hyponatremia, as well as the symptoms associated with the imbalance, is important.
Types of Hyponatremia
There are three types of hyponatremia. Although the symptoms of low serum sodium are universal, knowing the types of hyponatremia helps you understand your risk of a sodium/water imbalance. This may make you more sensitive to early symptoms of the condition. Euvolemic hyponatremia occurs when your serum sodium levels are low despite a normal body water level. Certain medications, as well as chronic illnesses like cancer, are usual causes of euvolemic hyponatremia. Heart, liver and or/kidney failure are the usual culprits in hypervolemic hyponatremia, in which high levels of serum water dilute your sodium levels, causing them to become too low. Hypovolemic hyponatremia is the result of both serum water and sodium levels that are too low. This type of hyponatremia occurs after extreme fluid and/or blood loss.
Symptoms
Early signs and symptoms of hyponatremia include fatigue, confusion, vomiting with nausea and headache. If left unchecked, these symptoms progress to appetite loss, muscle cramps and weakness, irritability and restlessness. If allowed to progress further, severe hyponatremia becomes a life-threatening condition resulting in seizures, decrease in or loss of consciousness and coma.
Causes
Understanding the causes of hyponatremia is important, because if you are at risk for any of them, you can seek medical help early to avoid the profound and possibly dangerous effects of low sodium on your body. Potential causes include hormonal imbalances, such as hypothyroidism or adrenal gland insufficiency. Some medications, such as diuretics, cause your body to eliminate more sodium than usual, resulting in hyponatremia. Also, excessive diarrhea, sweating and/or vomiting causes dehydration, which can lead to a low serum sodium level.
Treatment
Initial treatment of hyponatremia aims at returning your serum sodium levels to normal. For mild hyponatremia, your doctor may recommend increasing sodium intake and increasing or decreasing your fluid intake, depending on the underlying cause of your condition. Acute hyponatremia warrants more aggressive intervention, such as administration of intravenous fluids or medication. Once your serum sodium levels are normal, your doctor will focus on uncovering the exact cause of hyponatremia in your case.
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