Low Sodium Levels

Physiological Responses to High-Sodium Diets

A high-sodium diet has several detrimental effects on your body. Unfortunately, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most Americans do not limit their sodium intake to the recommended levels. To avoid the negative physiological effects of high sodium, limit your daily sodium intake to 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams daily.

All About Low Sodium Levels

Sodium Imbalance & Rehydration in Infants

Abnormal sodium levels in newborns can indicate an underlying medical condition. Infants who are sick or who display poor growth are at increased risk for sodium imbalance, according to the University of Iowa Children's Hospita...

Does Sodium Give You Energy?

Although your body cannot break down sodium to produce energy, sodium can be used as a reserve of energy and is also needed to help deliver oxygen throughout the body. Too little sodium can cause severe health problems, includi...

High Levels of Sodium & Headaches

Despite having several potential causes, a high level of the electrolyte sodium in your blood, or hypernatremia, most commonly results from dehydration. Although there are several types of hypernatremia, symptoms of the conditi...

Low Sodium Levels and Caffeine

When used in large doses, caffeine can have a diuretic effect on your body. This may cause your body to lose electrolytes like sodium, lowering your levels of the mineral.

Low Sodium Levels After a Stroke

After a stroke or any serious heart problem, you should lower your sodium levels by altering your diet. For example, you should eliminate processed foods that are high in sodium, and use table salt sparingly. Lower sodium level...

High Sodium Levels & Constipation

If you follow a typical Western diet, you are probably consuming much more sodium than you should be. High sodium levels can pose numerous risks to your health, such as increasing your blood pressure. While consuming too much o...

Can Dieting Affect Sodium Level?

Dieting to lose weight can affect your sodium level -- to your health benefit. If you’re like most American adults, you routinely consume more sodium than you need and more than your body can handle over the long term. Re...

Low Sodium & Chloride Levels

Both minerals play an important role in your health as the primary electrolytes in your extracellular fluid, which is the fluid outside of your cells. Low sodium and chloride is seen in a variety of conditions, including indivi...

Low Sodium Levels & Agitation

Hyponatremia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of sodium. Sodium helps regulate the amount of water inside and around your cells. When your sodium levels become too low this causes the water levels in your b...

Effects of Caffeine on Low Sodium Levels

Sodium is obtained through diet and is also referred to as salt. It is also an electrolyte found in the blood. Low sodium levels, or hyponatremia, can be caused by a number of different ailments, including kidney, heart or live...

Sodium Supplements for Low Sodium Levels

While most Americans eat more sodium then they need, there are situations and medical conditions that can make your sodium levels drop too low. Since a level of sodium either too high or too low can cause health problems, it is...

Why Is Sodium Level Important in Humans?

It affects fluid balance, nerve and muscle function, and can also impact your blood pressure. Your kidneys play a vital role in controlling your sodium level. Keeping your sodium at optimal levels keeps your body functioning pr...

Sodium Level & Fatigue

To maintain health and support life, you body works to closely monitor sodium levels in the bloodstream. While your body requires minimal amounts of dietary sodium, or salt, to conduct a wide range of essential functions, the a...

Osteoporosis & Sodium Chloride Levels

This condition can severely affect your health, because it increases your likelihood of experiencing painful bone fractures. To reduce this risk, you not only need to add calcium to your diet, you also must avoid substances tha...

How to Elevate Low Sodium Levels

Sodium is an electrolyte and a mineral that helps maintain the balance of water in and around your cells and helps keep your body's electrolytes in balance. Abnormally low sodium levels -- also known as hyponatremia -- causes y...

Meniere's Disease & Low Sodium Levels

Meniere's can cause such severe attacks of dizziness that you lose your balance and fall, forcing you to do nothing but remain quiet as long as it takes for the attack to subside. Keeping levels of sodium low can help manage th...

Low Sodium Levels in Women

To function properly, your body requires a regular intake of sodium. In the United States, where the average diet tends to deliver sodium in excess of the recommended daily amount, low sodium levels are rare among women. Howeve...

Will Sodium Levels Affect Cognition?

Sodium is one of the electrolytes in the body. It helps to regulate the amount of water in and around body cells. A sodium level that's too high is called hypernatremia, and a sodium level that's too low is called hyponatremia....

Fatigue and Thirst With Low Sodium and Chloride Levels

To function properly, your body needs an assortment of minerals as well as water. Electrolyte minerals in your blood and cells create a constant exchange of fluids, bringing nutrients into your cells and discharging waste produ...

High Sodium Intake & Low Sodium Levels

Sodium is a charged mineral in the body, called an electrolyte. It is important for electrical conduction and the distribution of fluids, and helps cells to perform work. Mildly low sodium levels may go unnoticed, but past a po...

Does a Low Sodium Level Cause Nausea & Sweating?

The fluids outside of your cells contain the majority of the sodium in your body. If your sodium levels become too low, you can develop hyponatremia. This can result in a variety of symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, as w...

Low Sodium and Chloride Levels in Humans

They travel together in the human body as well. There is no specific chloride deficiency, but you definitely have a problem if you don't have enough sodium. However, since salt is so abundant, it is difficult to have low sodium...

What Should an Adult's Sodium Level Be?

It has a variety of purposes in the human body, including regulation of blood and body fluids and transmission of nerve impulses. For adults, a normal sodium level is anything in the range of 136 to 144 milliequivalents per liter.

Frequent Urination & Low Sodium Levels

Frequent urination isn't necessarily a symptom of low sodium levels. Because sodium is a vital mineral for proper body functions, very low levels can lead to serious health complications. If you suspect you have low sodium lev...

Sodium Levels & Cramping in Limbs

This causes your muscle to stay tense, which causes pain. Although you can experience muscle cramps anywhere on your body, they are most common in your legs and arms. You can prevent or treat muscle cramping due to sodium losse...

Hyperaldosteronism & Sodium Levels

They are in charge of secreting hormones that modulate the body's stress response and fluid and electrolyte balance. One of those hormones is aldosterone. Hyperaldosteronism is a condition in which the adrenals secrete excess ...

Proper Sodium Levels in a Woman at 50

Your blood pressure directly correlates to your intake of dietary sodium. The more sodium in your body, the higher your blood pressure will be. A woman at 50 has likely had a lifelong eating pattern that includes overconsumptio...

Low Sodium Levels in Bloodwork

Healthy levels of sodium in your blood, in proportion to your total body water, fall within a range of 136 to 145 mEq/L. Diagnosed as hyponatremia, a serum sodium of 135 mEq/L or lower leads to symptoms that can become severe, ...

Hormones That Affect Sodium Levels in the Body

Your body has a number of "sensors" that detect your overall sodium level, many of which are in the kidneys. When your sodium levels are too high, hormones can set off a number of reactions that cause your body to retain fluid....

The Average Sodium Levels

salt consumption coming from commercially processed foods, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The average sodium levels in popular foods are high as many fast-food breakfast sandwiches and fried entrees, frozen d...

Proper Sodium Levels

Sodium is found in many different kinds of food, including common salt. You need sodium to help maintain fluid balance within your body, for proper function of nerves and muscle and to maintain a proper electrolyte concentratio...

The Effects of Low Sodium Levels

Just as too much sodium causes serious health problems, so can low sodium levels. Your body needs sodium to perform a number of biological transactions, including nerve and muscle functioning and keeping your fluids balanced. R...

Can Low Sodium Levels Lead to Diabetes?

Even gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy but is not usually permanent, is related to sugar metabolism. But the less familiar diabetes insipidus is different. Sodium can be a factor in either situation.

Blurred Vision & Blood Sodium Levels

In other instances, blurred vision may result from eye diseases such as macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, serious eye conditions that could lead to permanent vision loss. However, other factors could play a role. Kn...

Will Low Sodium Levels in Body Hurt You?

While a high-sodium diet can raise your blood pressure, low blood sodium can be dangerous too. When your sodium levels dip below 136 mEq/L, you can experience a condition known as hyponatremia, which also is known as water into...

Sodium Levels in Frozen Foods

Whether you're short on time or not a cook, frozen foods offer a convenient alternative. When you choose these foods, it's important you check the sodium on the nutrition facts panel. That's because sodium is often added in lar...

Renal Problems & Low Sodium Levels

Your kidneys are important organs that help regulate the levels of fluid and different electrolytes in your body including sodium. If your kidneys are not working properly, you may develop a variety of health problems, includin...

Low Sodium Levels & the Heart

Limiting the sodium in your diet is one of the most important ways to protect yourself from high blood pressure and manage heart disease. Excess sodium leads to water retention, increases blood volume and forces your heart to ...

Effects of Hypernatremia

Hypernatremia is a medical condition in which your sodium levels are not in proper balance with your fluid levels. Sodium levels of greater than 145 milliequivalents per liter -- mEq/L -- are considered too high and are indicat...

Sodium Levels & Seizures

The condition epilepsy is diagnosed when a person experiences a pattern of recurring seizures. The levels of sodium in your blood can affect your seizure rate -- low blood sodium, in particular, can precipitate seizures. Consul...

Desired Levels of Sodium

Elevated sodium levels are associated with health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease, so keeping your sodium levels low is important if you want to maintain your health.

Dangerous Sodium Levels

Your body's sodium level represents how much sodium and water your body takes in through food and drink and how much it excretes through urine, stool and sweat. Your sodium level may become dangerously high or low if the water ...

What to Do If You Have Low Sodium Levels?

Low sodium levels, or hyponatremia, can lead to confusion, a coma or even death. It is the most common electrolyte disorder in the United States, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Low sodium levels must be...

Low Blood Sodium Levels & Its Effect on Blood Pressure

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for American published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the USDA recommend reducing added salt in your daily diet to help avoid high blood pressure. Although high blood sodium ...

Can Low Sodium Level Cause High Potassium?

As long as your kidneys are healthy and functioning properly, your body will eliminate excess potassium from your blood. A buildup of too much potassium is called hyperkalemia. No research has yet shown that a diet low in sodiu...

The Importance of Reduced Levels of Sodium

Salt adds flavor to food and acts as a preservative for canned goods, frozen meals, processed meats and other dishes. Table salt contains sodium, a mineral that helps the body maintain normal fluid levels and plays a role in he...

Low Sodium Levels & Confusion

Sodium is an electrolyte necessary for maintaining fluid balance in the cells. When your sodium level is low, your cells may fill with too much fluid, which negatively affects normal function. A normal sodium level is 136 to 14...

Sodium Levels & Blood

Sodium is also important for the regulation of blood pressure, and for the functioning of muscles and nerves. Alterations in the level of sodium in the blood can result in serious health problems, affecting blood pressure, kid...

Information on Sodium Levels in the Blood

It exists in an electrically charged form in the body and is an electrolyte. Sodium is important for a number of functions in the body. Derangements of sodium levels in the blood can both signal the presence of a disease and ca...

Sodium Levels in the Diet

Department of Agriculture's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Yet the average sodium intake in this country is 3,400 mg per day. High sodium levels in the diet are due in great part to processed foods, such as pizza and co...

Are High Sodium Levels Dangerous?

Salt is a mineral that provides sodium and chloride, two elements essential to health. Your body does not produce salt, so you must receive it from diet. Though salt is found naturally in a variety of foods, table salt is a pri...

High Serum Levels of Sodium

Serum contains nutrients, hormones, proteins and minerals. Sodium exists in the body as a charged mineral. High levels of sodium, known as hypernatremia, are both indicative and causative of disease. It is important to consult ...

Good Sodium Levels

It does this through the actions of hormones and organs such as the kidneys. Sodium is maintained in a narrow range of values because high and low sodium levels are bad for health. Likewise it is necessary to have a certain amo...

What Do High Sodium Levels Mean?

Sodium is an important mineral for the body because it is an electrolyte, which means that it has an electrical charge when dissolved in water. Unusually high levels of sodium in your body can raise your blood pressure and resu...

How to Correct High Sodium Levels in the Body

If you have high amounts of sodium in the blood, you have a condition known as hypernatremia. Severe hypernatremia can affect neurons, so when sodium levels get too high you must lower them to prevent neurological problems.

Healthy Levels of Sodium Per Person

While a diet high in salt can be detrimental to your health, you actually need some sodium in your daily diet. According to Mayo Clinic, sodium helps you maintain healthy balances of fluid, encourages proper transportation of n...

Hormones That Effect Sodium Levels

Sodium is an important mineral found in abundance outside the cell and helps regulate blood volume and pressure. Think of it as a "water magnet." For example, an increase in blood sodium concentration results in the shifting of...

How to Handle Low Sodium Levels

Having low sodium levels in your blood is a condition called hyponatremia. The condition can be chronic -- if you're older, for example. But illness, burns, medications and vomiting can also lead to low sodium levels, which can...

Symptoms of Low Sodium Levels

Sodium maintains water balance in your body; that is, it aids in preventing fluid build-up and helps prevent dehydration. Also, it plays a key role in normal nerve and muscle function. It is important to know the symptoms of lo...

USDA Sodium Levels

Sodium is an essential mineral in your diet, promoting fluid balance. But too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure and increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. To inform yourself about sodium in yo...

Adult Sodium Levels

Too little or too much can have serious health consequences. Reference ranges vary among labs, but a general guideline given in the Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics is that sodium levels for adults...

Dietary Sodium Levels

The United States Department of Agriculture publishes (USDA) dietary recommendations every five years for macro and micro-nutrients including sodium. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, Americans consume on...

Appropriate Sodium Levels

Although many foods naturally contain sodium, humans consume the majority of dietary sodium in the form of sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt. Maintaining appropriate sodium levels is essential to a healthy cardiovas...

Decreased Sodium Levels in Blood

Low sodium is also referred to as hyponatremia. It can occur in people of all ages, but is more common in older adults. This may be due to other medical conditions the elderly may already have that can interfere with sodium bal...

Low Sodium Blood Levels

Sodium is an important mineral because it functions as an electrolyte. This means that it has an electrical charge when it is dissolved in blood or other liquids in the body. Changes in electrolyte levels affect cells because t...

What Are Low Electrolytes?

These include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, bicarbonate and sulfate. Electrolytes carry either a positive or negative charge. The human body tightly controls normal ranges of electrolytes. A low le...

The Symptoms of High Sodium Levels

A high sodium level in the body, or hypernatremia, may be caused by the kidneys' inability to filter sodium from the body's fluid, inadequate water intake or the consumption of foods that contain a high level of sodium. You may...

Acceptable Sodium Levels

Your body needs sodium to function. It keeps fluids and other electrolytes balanced in your body and is essential for muscular contractions and nervous cell communications. However, too much sodium can be detrimental to your he...

How to Raise Sodium Levels in the Blood

Low sodium levels, or hyponatremia, is a condition in which the levels of sodium, or salt, in your blood stream are too low. Uncorrected low blood sodium can cause fatigue, headache, confusion, hallucinations, muscle weakness, ...

High Sodium Levels in Adults & Children

It is important because water flows into areas that have higher sodium concentrations. There are several causes of elevated levels of sodium, or hypernatremia, in adults and children. These conditions can have serious health co...

What Are Sodium Levels?

It has two basic functions: First, it helps regulate the flow of electrical energy among cells; second, it helps to distribute water in the body. Normal sodium levels are important to health, and high or low levels can be detri...

Normal Serum Sodium Levels

Sodium ions play a critical role in the human body. They are involved in fluid balance, nerve functioning, heart activity and other metabolic activities. Generally, doctors will order serum sodium as part of a routine laborator...

Toxic Levels of Sodium

Sodium is important for many functions in the body. It helps regulate electrical currents in all cells in the body, and is especially important for nerve and muscle currents. Sodium also regulates the fluid content of the body....

High Sodium Levels

Sodium is important because it plays a role in regulating the function of nerve cells and because it also affects how much liquid your body retains. High sodium levels in the blood are also known as hypernatremia.

How to Lower Sodium Levels

Sodium is a necessary nutrient; your body needs it to regulate water balance in your cells and keep your nerves and muscles functioning properly, says the Colorado State University Extension. But when you consume too much sodiu...

How to Lower My Sodium Levels

Sodium is added to many foods to enhance the flavor and prolong its shelf life. A diet that contains too much sodium can lead to many health conditions, such as heart disease, kidney problems and high blood pressure. Your body ...

Low Potassium & Sodium Levels

Sodium and potassium are required at optimal concentrations for the cells of function properly. When potassium concentration is below 3.5 milliequivalents, or mEq, per liter of blood, it is considered deficient in blood. Low bl...

Low Sodium Levels in Premature Infants

One of the electrolytes affected in premature infants is sodium. Low sodium levels, or hyponatremia, in premature infants can have serious health consequences.

What Are the Dangers of Low Sodium Levels?

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 ...

Signs & Symptoms of High Sodium Levels in the Body

Sodium is an essential electrolyte in the body that helps regulate fluids. High sodium levels in the body, also called hypernatremia, may occur during dehydration, with the use of diuretics, kidney problems and decreased fluid ...

How to Check Your Sodium Levels at Home

If you are maintaining a saltwater fish tank, you will want to keep the salt at a level for optimum fish health. A tool, called a hydrometer, is used for at-home measuring of sodium levels.

Dehydration and Sodium Levels

Water is one of the most important compounds in the body, necessary for the processes of energy generation and removal of waste products. When the body lacks enough water, dehydration ensues. This can then lead to metabolic ab...

How to Increase Sodium Blood Levels

Medical conditions such as diarrhea, burns, cirrhosis of the liver and congestive heart failure might cause an unsafe drop in sodium levels. Your physician can order a blood test to check sodium levels. When sodium levels in yo...

Healthy Levels of Sodium

Sodium is necessary for good health. Your body needs it for muscle contraction, conduction of nerve impulses and fluid regulation. Sodium is checked as part of a basic metabolic panel, which is routine blood work that measures ...

Sodium Levels in Pregnancy

However, if you experience health problems, such as high blood pressure, you may need to re-evaluate your daily salt intake and how it affects your body's sodium levels.

Seizure From Low Sodium Levels

When these signals misfire, they can cause a seizure. The manifestations of seizures include changes in behavior, abnormal movements or sensations, and changes in mental status, including confusion or loss of consciousness. One...

How to Keep Your Sodium Levels Even

James Balch and Phyllis Balch, authors of "Prescription for Nutritional Healing." However, excess sodium intake can result in high blood pressure as well as liver and kidney disease. Simple strategies may help you maintain prop...

How to Increase Sodium Levels

Hyponatremia, or low sodium levels in the blood, can cause a person to be at increased risk for seizure, coma and death. If your sodium is low enough, you may exhibit signs of extreme tiredness and confusion. Hyponatremia shoul...

How to Bring Sodium Levels Up

Sodium is an electrolyte that helps the body control levels of water in the body. Low levels of sodium, also called hyponatremia, may occur because of medications, such as diuretics, severe burns, diarrhea, vomiting, and medica...

How to Measure Sodium Levels

A blood test or a urine test can test the sodium levels in the body, depending on the cause of the electrolyte imbalance, according to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Test results will show if the sodium levels...

How to Check Sodium Levels in the Body

Common causes of sodium abnormalities include medications, diet, dehydration, liver disease, kidney disease, congestive heart failure and excessive water intake. Because a lack of sodium is the most common electrolyte abnormali...

How to Monitor Low Sodium Levels

Furthermore, sodium is also needed for the nerves and muscles to function properly. Knowing how to monitor low sodium levels is important in maintaining the proper sodium balance.

Health Problems Resulting from Low Sodium Levels

Sodium is one of the body's major electrolytes, important for maintaining proper fluid balance and blood volume. Signs and symptoms of decreased sodium levels, or hyponatremia, depend on both the severity of the decrease and ra...

Information on Low Sodium Levels

Sodium is a nutrient that the body needs for many vital processes. It plays an important part in muscle and nerve function, as well as in water balance. The kidneys determine how much sodium to excrete to prevent sodium imbalan...

High Sodium Levels in Preemies

According to David E. Hertz, author of "Care of the Newborn: A Handbook for Primary Care," high blood sodium levels, or hypernatremia, in your newborn or preemie can be caused by hormones and loss of water from her bo...

Diet For Men With Low Sodium Levels

This poses a health risk that can lead to potentially deadly diseases, but fortunately, you can reverse these effects by eating a well-balanced diet that is low in sodium and high in nutritional value.

Food for Low Sodium Levels

High-sodium foods dominate most aisle of grocery stores and restaurant menus. If your diet is like most Americans', eating for low sodium levels will require an overhaul in your choice of foods.

Low Levels of Sodium

Anyone with a personal or family history of hypertension knows about the dangers of high sodium levels. Too much salt can exacerbate high blood pressure and lead to long-term health problems. But too little sodium in the bloods...

Signs of a Fluid & Electrolyte Imbalance

When levels of these ions --- most often sodium, potassium and calcium --- become too high or too low, the fluid balance in the body shifts, resulting in potentially serious health consequences. Recognizing the symptoms and ide...

Diet for Low Sodium Levels

Low sodium levels can create hyponatremia, a condition that occurs when the sodium levels of the body are diluted. The body maintains a balance of sodium in the blood by matching the amount of sodium you consume with the amount...

Signs of Low Sodium Levels

Too little sodium, or hyponatremia, is a condition caused by an imbalance in the sodium and water in the blood. Normal blood plasma levels of sodium range between 136 and 145 mEq/L, according to Ohio Health. Anything below 135 ...

Sodium Levels in Food

Choosing low sodium foods over those filled with added salts is the cornerstone of a heart-healthy diet. However, before you can reduce your sodium intake, you need to identify the levels of sodium in the food you eat.

What Causes Low Sodium & Potassium Levels?

Numerous conditions cause low sodium or potassium levels. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center decreased sodium levels, or hyponatremia, is a metabolic condition characterized by a lack of sodium in the body f...

What Do Low Sodium Levels Mean?

If you exhibit signs and symptoms suggestive of an electrolyte imbalance, your doctor will perform a blood test to determine the origin. If the laboratory results reveal a suboptimal serum sodium level, or hyponatremia, your do...

How to Reduce Sodium Levels

It also aids in the proper function of the nervous and digestive systems. However, high sodium levels can contribute to hypertension, or high blood pressure, as well as heart disease. Simple strategies can help you lower sodium...

High Levels of Sodium

Consuming high levels of sodium is associated with hypertension--as well as a higher risk for heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, kidney stones and perhaps even stomach cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. However, most Americ...

What Are the Causes of High Sodium Levels?

Numerous factors can cause hypernatremia, or high sodium levels in the blood. According to the Penn State Milton S. Hershey College of Medicine, hypernatremia is a greater than normal concentration of sodium in a person's blood...

Signs and Symptoms of Low Sodium Levels in the Blood

Your body requires some of this element, and although people commonly consume too much of it, certain conditions may cause your blood sodium levels to become unbalanced. Having low sodium levels in your blood is called hyponatr...

Low Sodium Levels in the Body

Hyponatremia, especially acute hyponatremia, is a dangerous electrolyte imbalance in which your body's serum sodium levels become too low. If you develop the symptoms of hyponatremia and are exposed to any of the risk factors a...

High Sodium Levels in Babies

A high sodium condition in the body is a condition called hypernatremia. The condition most commonly develops in the elderly, but babies and young children may also develop the condition in certain circumstances. Your baby need...

What Are the Treatments for High Sodium Levels?

Sodium is found in the blood and the fluid around the cells and is regulated by the kidneys. Sodium may increase to a high level when the amount of water excreted is excessive. The slow reduction of sodium is the goal of treatm...

Low Serum Sodium Levels

Normal blood plasma contains 136 to 145 mEq/L of sodium, according to MayoClinic.com. When sodium in blood plasma falls below 135 mEq/L, it is considered a low serum sodium level, or hyponatremia.

What Will Make Your Sodium Levels Drop?

The daily recommended intake for sodium is anywhere from 1,500mg to 2,300mg, but most people are consuming much more and need to take measures to lower their intake.

How to Bring Up Low Sodium Levels

Low levels of sodium might be an electrolyte deficiency known as hyponatremia, according to MayoClinic.com. It can be caused by anything from kidney problems to chemotherapy side effects and even drinking too much water. There ...

Risks of Low Sodium Levels

An insufficient level of sodium in those fluids is a condition called hyponatremia. The body uses sodium for various functions, including maintaining blood pressure. Sodium is also needed for proper functioning of nerves and mu...

Sodium Levels in Babies

Sodium is an essential nutrient that helps control the absorption of other nutrients, manages your blood volume and blood pressure. Sodium levels in babies can fluctuate, especially soon after birth when a newborn's bodily syst...

Sodium Levels in Children

With nearly 80 percent of sodium in U.S. diets originating from salt hidden in processed foods, dietary sodium levels need to be reduced at an early age, according to Feng J. He and colleagues in a March 2008 article of the jou...

High Sodium Levels in the Body

Symptoms of hypernatremia include feeling dizzy when you stand up or change positions, severe sweating or fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Extremely high levels of sodium can lead to high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, ...

Normal Sodium Levels in Urine

It works as an electrolyte, along with minerals such as potassium and chloride, to maintain fluid balance in and outside of your cells. Sodium is also critical for proper nervous system function. Your sodium levels can be measu...

Symptoms of Low Levels of Sodium in the Body

Low levels of sodium in the body is a condition known as hyponatremia. According to the Mayo Clinic, it is a condition that is very common among elderly persons. The condition can be caused by something as simple as drinking to...

High Sodium Levels in Infants

Sodium is also extremely important as an electrolyte within the body, which carries a small electrical charge and is responsible for the regulation of fluids into and out of the cells. Increased levels of sodium affect cell fun...

List of Sodium Levels in Foods

Sodium is essential to the body and plays a role in blood pressure regulation and other bodily functions. Forms of sodium act as preservatives and inhibit the growth of food-borne pathogens in food, including lunch meats and ch...

Sodium Levels in Infants

A balance between sodium intake and losses maintains normal sodium levels in the blood within a tight range. Several conditions and diseases can disrupt this balance, however, and lead to high or low sodium levels in infants.

What Are the Causes of Low Sodium Levels in the Body?

Hyponatremia, or a low sodium level in the body, is a condition in which there is not enough sodium or salt in the body fluids outside of the cells. Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte imbalance in the United States and...

Elevated Sodium Levels in Children

Disruption of the mechanisms that normally contribute to the maintenance of a tight range of sodium in the blood can lead to elevated sodium levels in your child. Elevated sodium levels can produce effects from thirst to seizur...

Effects of an Electrolyte Imbalance

Levels of electrolytes including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, and carbonate can become too high or too low. Changes in electrolyte levels may be due to alterations in the amount present in your bo...

What Causes Your Sodium Levels to Drop?

Sodium usually has a negative connotation to it, but in actuality, sodium is necessary for many functions of your body. Low sodium levels may be a sign of dehydration or organ failure. The condition in which your blood level of...

What Are the Causes of Low Sodium Levels in Blood?

Sodium, an essential mineral, helps maintain blood pressure and aids in normal muscle and nerve function, according to the Milton S Hershey Medical Center. Sodium levels below 135 indicate hyponatremia, or low sodium levels. Ma...

Causes for Low Sodium Levels

Sodium provides the body with many essential functions and it helps the body to keep its fluids in a normal balance. A low sodium level, or hyponatremia, occurs when the body contains too little sodium for the amount of fluid i...

What Are the Causes of Low Sodium Levels in the Blood?

When sodium levels drop, excess water enters the cells causing them to swell. Swelling of the cells in the brain is especially dangerous because there is no room for expansion. Symptoms of low sodium, or hyponatremia, include c...

Abnormal Sodium Levels

Sodium is one type of electrolyte found in the blood. Proper sodium levels are necessary both for cellular function and to help regulate the amount of water in the body. As a result, abnormal sodium levels can have a profound e...

Normal Sodium Levels in a Blood Analysis

Sodium plays a critical role in some of the human body's most important functions. This element helps maintain normal blood pressure and blood volume, assists in the transport and absorption of nutrients and maintains electrica...

Causes of Low Sodium Levels

Within the body, sodium takes on a positive electrical charge becoming an electrolyte--a chemical capable of transmitting electrical messages. Sodium is the most abundant, positively charged electrolyte in the circulation. Low ...

Causes of Low Sodium Levels in Blood

Sodium must be present for the heart, nerves and muscles to function properly. It plays a role in digestion and helps the body retain adequate levels of water. However, if the level of sodium gets too high or too low, complicat...

What Are the Treatments for Electrolyte Imbalance?

According to the Merck Manual of Health and Aging, the most frequently treated forms of electrolyte imbalance are those related to sodium, potassium and calcium. Treatments often depend on the underlying causes of the disorder ...

Consequences of Low Serum Sodium Levels

It is necessary to maintain water balance in your body for proper functioning of the nerves, blood pressure regulation, aiding absorption of major nutrients, regulation of acid-base balance and contraction of the muscles, in ad...

How to Lower Sodium Levels With Diet

All of these factors play a role in how a person's body reacts to sodium or salt. But it's quite possible to control your sodium levels with diet.

What Is the Normal Sodium Level for Adults?

While sodium is an important mineral, it can have adverse effects on the body when present in higher or lower than normal levels. The kidneys are responsible for regulating sodium levels in the blood and can be affected by sodi...

3 Ways to Treat Hyponatremia

If you suffer from mild hyponatremia, a condition in which the blood contains abnormally low sodium levels, relief can be as simple as adjusting your fluid intake since the sodium levels in your body are overdiluted. This typi...

5 Ways to Understand Low Sodium Levels

Oftentimes, the sodium level of the blood is in direct correlation with your age. It is more common for older adults to experience low levels of sodium than it is for younger adults and teens. This is due to age-related changes...