What is Hyponatremia?
'''Hyponatremia''' (British English: '''hyponatraemia''') is when a [[human]] body does not have enough salt ([[sodium]]) in its [[blood]]. It is mostly caused by the presence of too much [[water]]. Hyponatremia is most often a complication of other medical illnesses in which excess water collects in the body faster than can be excreted (for example in [[congestive heart failure]], [[syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone]] ([[SIADH]]), or [[polydipsia]]). Some runners who drink a lot of water before running a [[marathon]] also suffer this illness.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec12/ch156/ch156d.html |title=Merck Manual: Hyponatremia |access-date=2011-10-21 |archive-date=2011-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111045040/http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/sec12/ch156/ch156d.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/20/sports/othersports/20marathon.html Gina Kolata: Marathoners Warned About Too Much Water (NYTimes, 20 Oct. 2005)]</ref> Drinking too much water can impair the ability of marathon runners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2010/11/15/bjsm.2010.074641.short?q=w_bjsm_ahead_tab |title=Inverse relationship between percentage body weight change and finishing time in 643 forty-two-kilometre marathon runners |access-date=2011-10-21 |archive-date=2011-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930144215/http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2010/11/15/bjsm.2010.074641.short?q=w_bjsm_ahead_tab |url-status=dead }}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Blood disorders]] {{medical-stub}}