ASKAR - thanks ... needed that dude. HAHAHA!!!

I really didn't realize this condition was "real" - I've never seen anybody do this before. Wow - there must be a few people drinking tons of water out there. Just give them some powdered Gatorade.

Pete2

Glock - One question for you -- if a person is consuming that much clear water and not taking in enough electrolytes, wouldn't they notice that they were cramping up in their muscles before they get into a hyponatremia condition?

I'm one of those people who has issues with muscle cramping on a continuous basis and so I take additional calcium, magnesium and potassium to ward this off and to a lesser extent sodium. It would be impossible for a person like myself to NOT notice the severe cramps and hence realize the requirement for more salt and electrolytes right away. Other people's physiology will vary, but I just find it difficult to believe one could it sweat out and replace with only clear water and not be aware of any warning signs.

The signs and symptoms are pretty generalized and might not obviously be connected to salt deficiency. I went on a fairly long and strenuous hike amny years ago, ending up with a mild, but growing headache, and feeling slightly nauseous. We got home and reached for refreshments. I bit into a nice salty corn chip and it was delicious - I quickly had a handful more, slaking my thirst with the most delicious beer I have ever quaffed. More chips and another brew later, I felt fine and dandy. I got to thinking and reviewing my recent diet, finding that just by chance it had been remarkably electrolyte free. Again, by chance, I had carried no salty foods on the excursion. I had done plenty of hot weather hiking at the time, having lived in southern Arizona for about a decade, and the normal foods I consumed were adequate for electrolyte replacement, this trip being a startling exception.

If you would have uttered the work "hyponatremia" in my presence, I would have guessed that it was the name of a new rock band from England.

shot a 3 gun match Sunday, and the heat and humidity was brutal...I've been doing some internet research on DIY electrolyte and electrolyte/glucose replacement formulas...most of the time I drink 500ml bottled water, so reduced the formulas.. and am planning on making up some sachets of the mix... to mix as necessary

We saw er patients occasionally with hyponatremia secondary to water intoxication, stemming from a psychiatric diagnosis of one sort or another. They would present in apparent good health, no muscle cramping, perhaps some anxiety, but with serum sodium levels approaching the 120 meq/l level that may result in seizures. See reference here. . These were cases of chronic excessive ingestion of tapwater, so the picture might be a different in acute hyponatremia due to exercise.

I think it's a personal physiology issue. In the case I described above the person never complained of cramping before, during, or after the event.

Here is a good writeup on hyponatremia that is a nice balance between the medical-nerd physiology and the practical wilderness context.

Hyponatremia used to be a problem when Ebeneezer Goode was popular back in the early 1990s along with Chemical light sticks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zlvvUYgR28

And BTW, this condition is not limited to outdoor or hot weather exercise.

There have been cases in the UK of people in nightclubs taking illegal drugs that tend to cause dehydration which is of course dangerous.
Advice was therefore given that users of such drugs should "drink plenty of water" some users took this to extremes and drank so much water that water intoxication resulted.

The symptoms could somewhat resemble those of drunkeness or recreational drug use, and might therefore delay proper treatment.