Why is low blood sodium a health concern for older adults? How is it treated?

Answer From Paul Y. Takahashi, M.D.

Low blood sodium, known as hyponatremia, occurs when you have an irregularly low amount of sodium in your blood or when you have too much water in your blood. Low blood sodium is common in older adults, especially those who are hospitalized or have long-term health problems such as heart disease, kidney disease or cancer, among others.

Symptoms of hyponatremia can include nausea and vomiting, loss of energy and confusion. Serious hyponatremia can cause seizures, coma and even death.

Hyponatremia is more common in older adults because they're more likely to take medicines or have medical problems that put them at risk of the disorder. These include:

  • Drugs that cause the body to make more urine, called diuretics.
  • Some types of antidepressants.
  • Carbamazepine, an anti-seizure medication.
  • Underactive thyroid or adrenal glands.
  • Decreased function of the kidneys, liver or heart.
  • Certain cancers, including lung cancer.
  • Certain illnesses, such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections, that can cause dehydration.

Hyponatremia treatments may include changing a medicine that affects sodium level, treating an underlying disease, changing the amount of water you drink or changing the amount of salt in your diet.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.

May 16, 2023 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Coma
  2. Fatigue
  3. Headache
  4. Hyponatremia
  5. Nausea and vomiting
  6. Urinalysis