stackyFACTSIn the mid-20th century, doctors discovered that aggressively correcting low sodium levels in alcoholic or malnourished patients was an incredibly bad idea.
In the mid-20th century, doctors discovered that aggressively correcting low sodium levels in alcoholic or malnourished patients was an incredibly bad idea. If you pump salt back into the bloodstream too fast, water rapidly rushes out of the brain cells to balance it out. This violently strips the protective myelin sheath off nerves in the brainstem. The patient effectively becomes 'locked-in'—fully conscious but permanently paralyzed, unable to move anything except their eyes.
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