What to do if you have water poisoning? Western medical treatment is very important

Water intoxication is when the human body takes in too much water, leading to dilutional hyponatremia. Water intoxication is more common in schizophrenia patients. When it comes to what to do in the case of water poisoning, Western medicine is generally the main treatment. In the case of water poisoning, you must pay attention to the excretion of water in the body and take preventive measures.

1. Promote the discharge of water from the body and reduce brain cell edema

For patients with severe acute water intoxication, mannitol, sorbitol isotonic diuretics or strong diuretics such as furosemide should be immediately infused intravenously to reduce brain cell edema and promote the excretion of water in the body. Intravenous drip of 3-5% hypertonic sodium chloride solution can quickly relieve the hypotonic state of body fluids and plays a very important role in maintaining normal blood and extracellular fluid volume and osmotic pressure. Sodium and chloride ions in the human body are mainly regulated by the hypothalamus, posterior pituitary gland and kidneys to maintain the stability of body fluid volume and osmotic pressure. Water intoxication and severe hyponatremia caused by various reasons can be treated with sodium chloride injection, which can rapidly increase the osmotic pressure of the extracellular fluid, thereby causing the water in the intracellular fluid to move outside the cells. While increasing the extracellular fluid volume, it can also increase the osmotic pressure of the intracellular fluid.

2. Western medicine treatment for excessive water intake

Prevention is better than cure. For those with renal insufficiency and those who are prone to excessive secretion of antidiuretic hormone, the amount of water they drink should be strictly controlled to prevent water intoxication. Once water intoxication occurs, mild patients can recover on their own by stopping water intake and allowing the body to excrete excess water. For patients with severe water intoxication, in addition to immediate water withholding, diuretics should be used to enhance water excretion. Generally, osmotic diuretics are used, such as 0.2L of 20% mannitol or 25% sorbitol, which is rapidly dripped intravenously. Loop diuretics, such as furosemide and ethacrynic acid, can also be used. To reduce cerebral edema and increase water excretion. 5% hypertonic saline solution can also be dripped intravenously to quickly reduce intracellular edema and improve symptoms. For patients with acute renal failure with oliguria or anuria, diuretics and large amounts of hypertonic saline are not only ineffective but also have the risk of increasing circulatory load and should not be used. In addition to stopping water intake, artificial dialysis can be used.

3. You can drink an appropriate amount of light salt water

You can drink some light salt water when working outdoors or after exercising, which can replenish the inorganic salts carried away by the large amount of sweat discharged from the human body. This way you can avoid water poisoning!