Salt and hydration?

[esunada]

Random question. I am a little confused about how salt and hydration work. I've learned that salt help retain fluids in the body so if you are dehydrated you should have some salt in the drinks. But whenever i have salty foods I feel more thirsty and I thought too that the salt itself absorbs the water through osmosis and thus the cells shrivel, like a slug would shrivel. Can someone explain?

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

fluid & electrolyte balance

http://tinyurl.com/69a6k92

you feel thirstier because you are taking in more sodium that you need so you drink more to get rid of the extra sodium.

[Turd Ferguson]

When you take in more sodium, there is a higher concentration of solutes in the vascular space (in your vessels). Remember, water follows the solutes, so when you have an excess of solutes in the vascular space the water will leave your cells (causing them to shrink). When your cells get smaller, your thirst sensation is triggered, making you thirsty.

[AgentBeast, BSN, RN]

Thirst is triggered by osmoreceptors in the hypothalmus. As their name suggests they sense changes in the osmotic pressure of blood. These cells expand (take in H2O) when the blood is hypotonic and shrink (loose water) when the blood is hypertonic. This shrinking triggers the cells to send an afferent signal to the brain triggering thirst. So when you eat salty foods you increase the amount of sodium in the blood making it slightly hypertonic and making you thirsty.

[esunada]

If salt makes your cells shrivel up then why do doctors suggest taking in more sodium to "retain fluids" when you are dehydrated. That is what I don't understand.

[lrobinson5]

If salt makes your cells shrivel up then why do doctors suggest taking in more sodium to "retain fluids" when you are dehydrated. That is what I don't understand.

Here is a really easy to understand explanation:

"A high concentration of electrolytes in our blood triggers our thirst mechanism, causing us to consume adequate amounts of water to return to the proper concentration of electrolytes. This is one of the reasons bars provide free salty snacks like pretzels and peanuts. The salt causes us to become thirsty and purchase more drinks.

When we consume an adequate amount of water, our kidneys are able to keep the concentration of electrolytes in our blood constant by increasing or decreasing the amount of water we retain. The result of our retaining more or less water in our bloodstream can also affect our blood pressure."

To sum it all up, by having more salt in your body, the kidneys will hold on to more water in an attempt to keep your sodium at a normal level.

Edit: Forgot the website-- http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_salt.php

[esunada]

Thank you lrobinson5. That makes sense!

[Steeleworks]

In August of 2013 the CDC has change their stand on salt intake and needs by the human body increasing the safe amount.

In holistic nursing, we find unprocessed sea salt (as opposed to table salt) can do the exact opposite. In my own practice, in more than one emergency situations when access to health care was not available, unprocessed sea salt worked. It lowered the blood pressure in one 70 year old (210 / 110 on initial check) down to 150 / 80 after the third glass of water and the third pinch of salt dissolved in the mouth. Likewise, another, in the back seat of our car, traveling in the country had chest pain. The second nitro did not relieve the pain which is when my help was solicited. With a pinch of salt and a bottle of water, the chest pain was gone in 45 seconds. Although given as a nursing intervention, I learned it from a doctor.

Although some consider this a shake up of what we know about salt, it seems like it is an apples vs oranges issue. The difference is table salt vs unprocessed sea salt.

But a thought to ponder, why would increasing the salt and proportionality the water at a ratio of about 1/4th tsp for every quart of water we drink work the opposite of what we are taught? A saline IV has about 1 5/8th tsp of salt per 1000 cc (about the same as a quart). Almost everyone gets an IV on entering the hospital.

Could the drinking the water and dissolving the salt in the mouth to get it into the blood be the same as or considered an 'Oral Saline Infusion as opposed to an IV saline infusion?

Of course it should be noted that some are sensitive to sodium chloride. One of my hospital patients so much so that she broke out in a rash within seconds of starting a saline IV.

[TerriKayeRN]

Steeleworks,

I have been reading through your threads. Your story is inspiring and your advice is great. You stated that you have a website. How can I access your website?

Terri