It has been a while since I added to this pinned thread. I am doing so today because of what I was told by a patient. The patient had been admitted to hospital with pneumonia. @FirthCaren @RJ_Phoenix16 @wendywoo6089 @nicktothecore74 @darrenmark69 @Eyecatcher_Pro

They also had other underlying health problems. Needless to say patient had been poorly. The patient asked me what hyponatremia was because it had been mentioned in their discharge letter @FirthCaren @RJ_Phoenix16 @wendywoo6089 @nicktothecore74 @darrenmark69 @Eyecatcher_Pro

Hyponatremia is the result of an essential electrolyte, sodium & can have life threatening consequences. I explained the condition and was asked how & why a face mask could cause this. I was surprised as I had not heard of this before. I was shown a copy of the discharge letter.

The letter stated that Hyponatremia was probably caused by pneumonia & the wearing of personal protection (PPE). I informed the patient I would look into it & this is what I started to find @FirthCaren @RJ_Phoenix16 @wendywoo6089 @nicktothecore74 @darrenmark69 @Eyecatcher_Pro

In a brief search on the internet I found these papers
https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-39747/v1/bc5b95af-76b3-4fc6-9901-fcfcedf25a5e.pdf While the study says all groups had hyponatremia it did identify other issues @FirthCaren @RJ_Phoenix16 @wendywoo6089 @nicktothecore74 @darrenmark69 @Eyecatcher_Pro

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6220324/
So is there any significance. Well it appears hyponatremia may well be common in people with respiratory tract infections. Although this study refers to children. @FirthCaren @RJ_Phoenix16 @wendywoo6089 @nicktothecore74 @darrenmark69 @Eyecatcher_Pro

Following on, is there a danger wearing face masks can cause hyponatremia and respiratory tract infections? Could this result in creating a further life threatening condition or exacerbate and existing one? @FirthCaren @RJ_Phoenix1 @nicktothecore74 @darrenmark69 @Eyecatcher_Pro