why does hyponatremia cause hyperactive bowel sounds?

[mashamontago]

i dont get how hyponatremia causes hyperactive bowel sounds.. please explain?

[kia2974]

Sorry my wording was wrong. If you look on page 94 of your Saunder's book, an assessment finding for GI in a patient with hyponatremia is nausea, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, increased motility and hyperactive bowel sounds. The book shows the assessment findings for each system.

[hopingtopassnclex]

Thanks I had the same question, and I'm still confused!!! I think I'll have to just put it under things that don't make sense but I know it anyway. I research this and found nothing, most didn't even mention that hyponatremia and hyperbowel sounds go together? I'm using Saunders too which I've liked up till now, because it not explained like they usually do. And whoever left that crappy post telling you to thank them and scornig you for not looking it up yourself... Shame on you, you made me feel bad and I did research with no luck! At least you could have had an answer to go along with you finger pointing!

[Kringe38]

I have this question also, and there doesn't seem to be an answer anywhere. My med-surge nursing book includes diarrhea and hyperactive bowel sounds as a symptom of hyponatremia, not a cause. So does my NCLEX study book. Neither one explains why, even though they do explain that sodium helps transmit action potentials and as such, there would usually be muscle weakness with hyponatremia. The instructors have said that if you think through what each electrolyte does, you can figure out what kind of symptoms would go with too much or too little of each one, at least in general. But if too little sodium should make muscles less excitable, why would it increase GI tract activity? Argh! At this point, I'm just studying for the med-surge final, and this is one of the subjects that will be on it, but I still don't understand why this would be so.

[hopingtopassnclex]

I freaked out about this and it never came up, they don't want to confuse you on the tests but to know the knowledge even if it doesn't make since. I asked so many nurses and never got an answer just confused looks that reflected my own. If you actually find a reasonable answer please share!

[tonydahtiger]

I believe that the hyperactive bowels sounds are due to abdominal cramping and/or diarrhea associated with this scenario of hyponatremia which could be due to diuretic therapy for example. Generally speaking, sodium loss results in associated water loss utilizing osmosis as its balancing/driving force (ouch!).