Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Hyponatremia- uncommon and dangerous

http://inyosar.com/seizure-on-the-mt-whitney-trail/
A very probable early trail diagnosis of AMS turns to something more dangerous. Hyponatremia: a dangerous loss of electrolytes, mainly sodium from over-consumption of water.

Did I miss a page of this story? I saw no diagnosis of the problem?

Interesting. Maybe JedHiker had some additional info.

However, hyponatremia is definitely a possible cause. It happens sometimes to Marathon runners, and I think primarily inexperienced ones.

no diagnosis on that report other than seizure. Could have been plain old epilepsy, new epilepsy picking the Whitney hike to show up, tumor, anything. Hyponatremia from water intoxication enough to cause seizure can occur, but usually in more extreme environments than the Whitney hike. Not enough info

Numbers don't add up either. Complaint started at "just over" 10,000 ft at one in the afternoon. 6 hours later, at 7:00 pm patient was reported in trouble at Mirror Lake. One wonders what was going on for those six hours.

And how you get hyponatremia out of this story vs a hundred other things is a little mysterious.

...I dunno... Reading the report, there are more than just seizure in the symptoms:

- 13:00 felt "weird" and had a headache
- started to become confused, then unable to speak
- soon started stumbling, and could not stand up
- patient had a full body seizure while being carried
- 22:15 patient was responsive to painful stimuli only
- appeared to be in a stupor,
- unable to speak or follow commands
- She vomited

From Mayo Clinic site:
Hyponatremia signs and symptoms may include:

- Nausea and vomiting
- Headache
- Confusion
- Loss of energy and fatigue
- Restlessness and irritability
- Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps
- Seizures
- Coma

The way her symptoms progressed, in my mind, they point toward hyponatremia or altitude-induced cerebral edema. What is missing in the report is how much water she was consuming and whether she was getting any electrolytes with the water.

I would sure like to see the diagnosis.

Exactly. "Could be" seems more fitting than "turns out".

This is exactly why I don't drink water, its just not worth the risk. A recent study of mortality rates concluded that 100% of the victims drank water within their final days.

Seriously now, there are many great electrolyte products on the market, with and without caffeine. Whether this was a case of hyponatremia or not, electrolytes are beneficial and prevents muscles cramps as well.