Water Intoxication

This morning, we discussed a case of hyponatremia.

Remember that disorders of sodium are really problems with water balance, so it is helpful to think of hyponatremia as excess free water. Prior to being able to test for serum sodium concentrations, the clinical syndrome that is now known as hyponatremia, characterized by confusion, muscle cramps, fatigue, delirium, seizures, and death, was called “water intoxication” syndrome.

Here are two previous post on hyponatremia.
Hyponatremia
Hyponatremia - no it's Hyperhydroemia


* MRI scan of person with central pontine myelinolysis (Saggital view, the dark area inside the circle is the region of damage). CPM is a devastating consequence of rapid fluctuations in sodium status.