How to deal with sodium deficiency in the body as recommended by your doctor

Minerals are very important for the body, including sodium. Lack of sodium can cause a person to experience hyponatremia. This condition occurs when the sodium level in the blood is lower than the normal limit (135-145 mmol / L). Overcoming sodium deficiency cannot be done carelessly, it needs the right way so as not to cause life-threatening complications.

Before treating, first identify the cause of hyponatremia

Too much fluid in the body can be one of the causes for a person to experience sodium deficiency, aka hyponatremia.

Not only that, hyponatremia can also be caused by various health problems. Some of them are the use of diuretic drugs, gland disorders, and congestive heart failure.

If you have ever experienced symptoms of sodium deficiency, discuss it with your doctor to find out the cause.

In addition, consulting a doctor can also be done to find out how to deal with sodium deficiency. Knowing how to treat a sodium deficiency does not mean you can treat it without a doctor's direction.

Even though it looks mild, hyponatremia is still at risk of causing complications that have a big impact on health if not handled properly.

How to treat sodium deficiency (hyponatremia)

Cite the page American Family Physician, how to overcome sodium deficiency aka hyponatremia can be divided into two steps.

The first step is to determine if the patient requires immediate treatment. Usually, this is done by considering the type of hyponatremia experienced, namely acute or chronic.

The second step is to determine the appropriate treatment. Based on the patient's condition, the doctor needs to consider the amount of sodium infusion given as well as other treatments if needed.

Here are ways to deal with sodium deficiency based on the type of hypnatremia you are experiencing.

1. Acute hyponatremia

Acute hyponatremia is characterized by a rapid decrease in sodium levels, between 24 and 48 hours.

This condition needs to be treated immediately because patients usually experience seizures and are at risk of developing brain swelling.

The sodium level in acute hyponatremia will decrease to 125 mmol per liter. Patients need to get an infusion to increase the amount of sodium by 4-6 mmol per liter to prevent damage to the nerves and brain.

The recommended ways to deal with sodium deficiency as a result of treating acute hyponatremia are:

Severe symptoms: infusion containing 100 mL 3% sodium chloride (NaCl) for 10 minutes or as needed.
Mild to moderate symptoms, with less risk of brain swelling: infusion containing 0.5-2 mL of 3% NaCl per kilogram of body weight per hour.

2. Chronic hyponatremia

Hyponatremia is called chronic if it lasts for more than 48 hours. How to treat this disorder is different from acute hyponatremia. Doctors need to know the cause first before they can solve it.

Most cases of chronic hyponatremia are treated based on the cause. For example, by changing diet, reducing water intake so as not to exceed 1-1.5 liters per day, or taking diuretic drugs to remove excess body fluids.

Sometimes, a sodium infusion procedure is needed to improve the sodium level in the blood. However, sodium administration should not be done quickly.

The reason is, this can risk causing damage to the myelin membrane that covers nerve cells. When this occurs, the patient is said to have osmotic demyelinating syndrome (ODS).

Taking the risks of ODS into account, here's how to treat sodium deficiency by administering intravenous fluids to treat chronic hyponatremia:

The risk of high ODS: administration of serum sodium as much as 4-8 mmol per liter every day. The maximum recommended limit of sodium increase is 8 mmol per liter over a 24 hour period.
Risk of normal ODS: administration of serum sodium as much as 10-12 mmol per liter within 24 hours; or 18 mmol per liter over a 48 hour period.

Doctors usually give sodium intravenously to treat hyponatremia so that levels return to normal.

However, keep in mind that these methods can only treat sodium deficiency or electrolyte disturbances, but do not eliminate the contributing factors.