What is Hyponatremia?

It is commonly seen among slow competitors in ultra-endurance sports such as triathlons and ultra-marathon races.

It is less seen in other sports such as soccer, swimming, cycling and mountain biking, but these athletes would still need to minimize the risk of experiencing this.

It probably arises due to:

• The loss of sodium through sweat + very high intakes of water OR

• The loss of sodium through sweat + other low sodium fluids

It is generally associated with having too much fluid in the body.

How do I know whether I have Hyponatremia?

Symptoms of Hyponatremia are similar to those associated with dehydration including:

• Mental Confusion

• Weakness

• Fainting

These symptoms occur when your serum sodium concentrations are at 126 - 130mmol/L. When serum sodium concentrations get to lower than 126mmol/L, it may cause seizures, coma and death.

You might not display any of these symptoms and yet you would be considered having hyponatremia. So, you can say it is tough to say whether you have it or not.

How to prevent hyponatremia?

Avoid drinking more than the fluid you had lost when exercising. To estimate the amount you should be consuming, you should go through a hydration testing.

Hydration testing assesses the fluid losses during training and the competition period and estimate the amount of fluid to consume during training and the competition period based on the climate you are training/competing in. Without planning, it would be difficult to estimate the amount of fluid since the difference between individuals, race distances, course/ competition profiles, environmental conditions, etc. will change the amount, timing and/or type of fluid needed.

Hydration Testing

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