How to Prevent and Treat Hyponatremia

Hyponatremia is a depletion of electrolytes in general but sodium in particular. Electrolytes include sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium and chloride and have either a positive or negative charge promoting electrical activity within the body. Without these minerals in sufficient quantity you literally couldn't move a muscle. Electrolytes are essential to not only metabolism but functioning of the body.
Sodium stores can be loss in a number of ways including jogging, chemotherapy, disease, liver disorders and illness.

Instructions

Halt it or heal it

1. 

   Prevent hyponatremia by drinking no more than two liters of water in a twenty-four hour period.

2. Avoid eating any foods that cause digestive upset, headaches or muscle cramps. These are signs of food intolerance. Eating these foods hinders the rebuilding of electrolytes. Eat a healthy balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and natural oils.

3. Exercise is both a preventive and treatment method for the restoration of electrolytes. When you exercise, your metabolism burns food and vitamins more efficiently, which aids in rebuilding electrolytes.

4. 

   Take a multivitamin that promotes healing and that has no sugar, allergens, dyes or sugar substitutes.

5. Visit your doctor if you suspect that your electrolyte stores are depleted. Signs include sluggishness, leg/feet cramps, heart palpitations, vertigo, dizziness and muscle cramps. Once your lab reports are back and it's determined that you have hyponatremia, only then can it be treated.

6. 

   Treat hyponatremia by restricting water intake. Many cases of hyponatremia are caused by excessive intake of water, which washes sodium and other electrolytes from the body. Once sodium is lost, it must be reintroduced slowly back into the body or swelling of the brain and subsequent death may occur.

7. Reintroduce electrolytes slowly back into the body with the use of an electrolyte supplement. Your doctor may administer an intravenous sodium/electrolyte drip if your symptoms are severe.

8. See a nutritionist and/or naturopath for optimum wellness. A naturopath facilitates healing and promotes wellness holistically, going beyond mere symptoms. The naturpath can be a medical doctor with a certificate or a trained practitioner.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult with your doctor to understand your lab reports.

• Don't self-diagnose hyponatremia.

References

• Hyponatremia (Low Blood Sodium)
• eMedicine: Hyponatremia
• Medline Plus: Hyponatremia

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Hyponatremia: Salt and the Athlete