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Mechanisms of Fluid & Electrolyte Imbalance in Humans

Electrolytes are the minerals required for basic and complex bodily functions, from blinking your eyelids to pumping blood through your body. In short, they're used for every single function that you perform, including thinking. Either too little or too much is dangerous to your health. The electrolytes are calcium, potassium, magnesium, bicarbonate, sodium, chloride and phosphate.

  1. Balance Water Intake

    • Water intoxication or over hydration is a major cause of electrolyte imbalance, especially for athletes. If you drink too much water within a short period, your electrolytes decrease, which causes an imbalance. Also if you drink too little water, the concentration of electrolytes will rise, causing an imbalance. Drink six to eight cups of water daily to maintain electrolyte balance.

    Electrolytes Must Be Balanced

    • Diarrhea, vomiting, medications, diuretics and/or disease contribute to electrolyte imbalance. Basically, these conditions or medications increase or deplete your body fluids, which alters body chemistry. Either a drop or rise in electrolytes will occur.

    Triggers

    • An electrolyte imbalance triggers a number of symptoms, such as walking cramps, muscle twitching or resting cramps. These cramps especially affect the feet and toes.

    Electrolyte Imbalance Symptoms

    • If left untreated, an electrolyte imbalance will progress, causing weakness, heart palpitations, more severe cramping, dizziness, coma and even death.

    Hyponatremia and Hypernatremia

    • There are two types of electrolyte imbalance: hyponatremia and hypernatremia. Hyponatremia is water intoxication, resulting in a depletion of an electrolyte, sodium, in the blood. Hypernatremia is caused by drinking too little water, causing sodium to be highly elevated. When sodium is either elevated or lowered, an imbalance occurs that causes the water levels in and around the cells to be disturbed.

    Rule of Thumb for Electrolytes

    • The rule of thumb is to drink more water if your electrolytes increase; drink less water if they decrease. Why? Because you want to dilute the concentration of electrolytes in the bloodstream if they increase. You want to go the other way and drink less water when electrolytes decrease to increase the amount in the bloodstream.

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