- Read all labels on food products.
- Monitor his weight if cardiac patient by weighing daily.
- Look for signs of swollen feet (tight shoes) and hands (tight rings).
- Notify healthcare provider if any respiratory distress occurs.
Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia occurs when the patient’s serum sodium is less than 135 mEq/L.
There are two reasons why this happens: the patient has increased the volume
of water while the sodium concentration remains normal or the patient losses
sodium while the water volume remains normal.
Hyponatremia is caused by:- Profuse sweating on a hot day or after running a marathon,
- Inappropriate administration of a hypotonic IV solution (sodium loss),
- The result of major trauma or after surgery (sodium loss),
- Excessive ingestion of water (water gain),
- Syndrome of Inappropriate Anti-Diuretic Hormone (SIADH),which causes
abnormal water retention (sodium loss) or Addison’s Disease, - Loss of sodium from the GI tract as a result of diarrhea and vomiting
(sodium loss), - The use of potent diuretics (lose water and salt together),
- Burns and wound drainage (sodium loss),
- Intake of too much water caused by polydipsia (excessive thirst).
The nurse must recognize the following symptoms of hyponatremia:- Fatigue,
- Headache,
- Muscle cramps,
- Nausea,
- Seizures,
- Coma.
Hyponatremia is treated by:- Treating the underlying cause.
- Administering hypertonic saline solution IV such as Dextrose 5% in saline
to restore the serum sodium level. - Replacing fluid loss with commercially available electrolytic fluids.
(^170) CHAPTER 10 Fluid and Electrolyte Therapy