How Should Hyponatremia Be Prevented?

Hyponatremia is clinically very common, especially in the elderly. The main symptoms include weakness, nausea and vomiting, headache and somnolence, painful muscle spasms, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and reversible ataxia. The following measures can help prevent the occurrence of hyponatremia:

1. For those with acute severe sodium deficiency: Administer 2/3 of the calculated amount, increasing by 1–2 mmol/L per hour for uniform infusion. For those with chronic sodium loss and stable circulation, do not correct hyponatremia too quickly within 48 hours. Otherwise, it may lead to osmotic demyelination syndrome, paraplegia, limb paralysis, aphasia, congestive heart failure, and cerebral edema.

2. Chronic sodium-losing hyponatremia: It is mostly seen in various consumptive diseases. The loss of sodium in the body includes not only intracellular and extracellular fluid sodium but also bone sodium. It should be noted that the sodium supplementation should reach twice the regular calculated amount. The supplementation rate of sodium should not be too fast. Meanwhile, it is best to supplement potassium and magnesium as well.