Drinking too much water, particularly during athletic events like a marathon.Hyponatremia is relatively common – 1.7% of Americans experience hyponatremia and it is the most frequent abnormality seen in hospital patients' blood tests. In most cases, you may have milder symptoms like headache, nausea, and muscle aches, but if you think you have hyponatremia, you should always get medical attention right away. Because when the sodium in your bloodstream becomes diluted, your body's water levels increase and your cells swell up and become damaged, which can causing serious problems with your body functions. This condition is most common in older adults and in severe cases, it can cause dangerous effects like seizures or coma. Low sodium levels, also known as hyponatremia, occurs when your blood sodium levels fall below 135 mEQ/L. Anything above or below this range is considered abnormal and can be harmful to your body. If you start to experience any of these symptoms, you need to get medical attention immediately.Ī normal level of sodium in your blood is between 135 and 145 milliequivalents per liter (mEQ/L), which measures how much sodium is available to interact with other molecules in your blood, allowing it to effectively regulate your water levels. This means that if your sodium levels become extremely high or low, you may have dangerous effects like confusion, slurred speech, seizures, or coma, Sterns says. "A markedly abnormal sodium concentration can affect the brain," Sterns says. For this reason, having a sodium imbalance can lead to dangerous complications like changes in blood pressure and even brain swelling. Having the right amount of fluid in your blood is important because too much or too little can shrink or grow the structure of your cells and cause damage to your nerves and muscles. This is because some of these conditions can make you lose water without losing sodium or vice versa, leading to an imbalance in your blood volume. Your body keeps a careful balance of sodium in your blood but your sodium levels can be affected by your water intake, illnesses like diarrhea, and some medications. If your blood volume is too low or too high, your kidneys will excrete or retain sodium to get your fluid levels back in balance. The concentration of sodium in your blood acts as a signal to your body about whether the amount of fluid in your blood is normal. Sodium, in particular, helps regulate the amount of water in your body and keeps your muscles and nerves running properly. If your sodium is too low, you may have confusion, weakness, and muscle twitching. If your sodium levels are too high, you may show symptoms like excessive thirst or urinating infrequently. Your doctor may also order a sodium blood test if you have symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance in your blood, which can be a sign of a condition like cancer or a hormone deficiency, Sterns says.Įlectrolytes, like sodium, are minerals that help control the nervous system function and balance pH levels in the body. Sterns, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Rochester.Ī doctor may evaluate your sodium blood levels, "on admission to the hospital or during a routine check-up, even when they don't necessarily suspect something," Sterns says. "The sodium concentration is part of a panel of blood chemistry values that doctors obtain routinely," says Richard H.
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