HYPERNATREMIA

INTRODUCTION

  • Hypernatremia is a medical term.
  • It describes having too much sodium in the blood.
  • Our body’s sodium is mostly found in the blood.
  • It is an important nutrient for the proper functioning of our body.
  • Sodium is also a necessary part of the body’s lymph fluids and cells.
  • In some cases, hypernatremia can be mild and doesn’t cause serious problems.
  • It’s important to correct high sodium levels to reverse problems caused by hypernatremia.

HOW CAN THE SODIUM LEVELS BE CONTROLLED

  • Hypernatremia mainly occurs due to too much water loss or too much sodium gain in the body.
  • As a result, there is too little water available for the amount of total sodium in the body.
  • This can affect the regulation of the concentration of sodium in the blood.
  • Dramatic changes in thirst and changes in urine concentration cause changes in the fluid.
  • In our body thirst and urine concentration are triggered by receptors in the brain.
  • The receptors recognize the need for fluid or sodium correction.
  • This increases the water intake and changes the amount of sodium passed in the urine.
  • By increasing the water intake, this disease can rapidly be corrected.

HYPERNATREMIA

 

SYMPTOMS

  • Excessive thirst is the main symptom of hypernatremia.
  • The symptoms include extreme fatigue and lack of energy, and possibly confusion.
  • These symptoms can be named as lethargy.
  • Sodium is also important for muscles and nerves to work.
  • Due to this chronic cases also cause muscle twitching or spasms.
  • When the sodium concentration elevates severely,  it can cause seizures and coma.
  • The severe symptoms are rare.

RISK FACTORS

  • Older adults have a high risk of hypernatremia.
  • This is because as we grow older, we have a decreased sense of thirst.
  • Dehydration,  severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, fever, certain medications, poorly controlled diabetes, larger burn areas on the skin, kidney disease are certain medical condition can also increase the risk of hypernatremia.

DIAGNOSIS

  • This can be diagnosed through blood tests.
  • High levels of sodium along with urine concentration can be identified by urine tests.

TREATMENT

  • According to the speed of onset, a treatment plan is determined.
  • The treatment involves correcting the fluid and sodium balance in your body.
  • Rapidly developing hypernatremia is treated more aggressively.
  • By increasing fluid intake, mild cases can be cured.
  • An IV drip is connected to the patient in case of severe hypernatremia.
  • This supplies fluid to your blood intravenously.

REFERENCES

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28164834/
  2. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejm200005183422006
  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25822386/