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Sodium Poisoning
The Dangers
of Sodium Poisoning
Rose Ann Gould Soloway
The Bottom Line
Sodium is found in
table salt, rock salt, pickling salt, and sea salt; soy sauce contains high
levels of sodium.
Sodium is essential
to human health, but too much sodium is poisonous. Sodium poisoning can cause
seizures, coma, and death.
The Full Story
Our bodies are
finely-tuned machines with lots of back-up systems in place.
Sodium is one of
many substances that our bodies need to function properly.
Not surprisingly,
our bodies have lots of back-up systems to keep the sodium levels in our blood
exactly where they need to be.
Most of us know
that too much salt in our diets is bad for people with high blood pressure.
But most people
don't realize that salt actually can be poisonous. Taking in a lot of sodium
can overwhelm our back-up systems and cause dramatic increases in sodium
levels.
That's true if we
take it all at once, or if we take in large amounts over a period of days or
weeks.
This can mean
eating ordinary table salt, rock salt, or high-sodium foods like soy sauce.
In this case, a
young man drank a lot of soy sauce on a dare.
Long ago, salt was
used to make people throw up after poisoning; this dangerous
"treatment" has been fatal.
In other cases,
people with mental health problems have drunk soy sauce or eaten salt – or
given salt to their children.
A developmentally
delayed man ate a lot of salt intended for a mouthwash.
Infants were
poisoned when salt was mistaken for sugar in formula.
A woman with
dementia ate salt from a salt shaker at her bedside.
A child with
cravings for non-food items (pica) ate rock salt.
A shipwrecked man
drank ocean water and suffered from salt poisoning.
Dehydration can
cause high sodium levels, too; this can happen because of a lot of sweating
(from high fever or high heat), a lot of vomiting, or a lot of diarrhea.
There are some
medical conditions which can cause sodium levels to get too high.
Too much sodium can
cause dangerous, even fatal effects.
When there's too
much sodium in the bloodstream, water rushes out of our cells to dilute it.
That's damaging to most cells; it's devastating to brain cells.
As they shrink,
they're torn away from their usual locations. Torn blood vessels and fluid
build-up in the brain cause seizures and coma.
Fluid can build up
in the lungs, causing trouble breathing. Other symptoms include intense thirst,
nausea, vomiting, and weakness. Kidney damage also occurs.
Most people won't
eat too much salt or drink very salty liquid. It tastes bad and makes them very
thirsty.
That might not stop
people who can't really tell what they’re doing, for example people with
developmental delays or dementia.
And, of course, it
didn't stop the young man who drank soy sauce on a dare.
If you think
someone has swallowed too much salt, give water if awake and breathing okay.
Call 911 if the person won't wake up, is not breathing, or is having seizures.
In any case, use
the webPOISONCONTROL® online tool
for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. The experts will
tell you what to do right away.
Take Home Message:
· Sodium is essential to human health. But too much sodium is
poisonous.
· Sodium is found in table salt, rock salt, pickling salt, and sea
salt.
· Soy sauce contains high levels of sodium.
· Sodium poisoning can cause seizures, coma, and death.
Prevention Tips
· Don't
eat or drink too much of anything on a dare. Just don't.
· People
of any age with developmental delays might eat too much salt. The same is true
for adults with dementia. Store salt and high-sodium condiments, such as soy
sauce, out of their reach.
· Do
not give salt water to make someone vomit.
This Really Happened
On a dare, a
19-year-old man drank a quart of soy sauce. In less than two hours, he was in a
coma.
It appeared as if he
was having seizures. His blood pressure and breathing rate were very high. His
heart rate was fast and irregular.
He had swelling in
his brain. Even though the sodium level in his blood was extremely high, he was
lucky; he survived with intensive care.
Rose
Ann Gould Soloway,
RN, BSN, MSEd, DABAT emerita
Clinical Toxicologist
Clinical Toxicologist
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