When required to drink large amounts of water, how much salt should I add to replace electrolyltes?

Question

I have an infection and have been instructed to drink lots of water, but have just found out that, as a result of drinking so much water, my sodium level is too low because all the water is flushing necessary salt out of my system. I know that it's common practice among athletes to add salt to their water to avoid water intoxication. I'm finding lots of information online about the dangers of drinking too much water, but can't find any information about how many units of salt to add per unit of drinking water to replace electrolytes.

brucenjacobs & bompu1, thanks for your ideas! brucenjacobs, how much pedialyte should an adult have? It's not on the pedialyte website.
bompu1, I'm curious how you know the information about salting to taste...it sounds good, but I'd like to know the source of your information.

Answer 1

You are better off with one of two other products. First is called pediolyte, it is found in drug stores. It is basically for children who are sick and it replaces their electrolytes. You can also drink Gatorade, it does the same thing.

Answer 2

you were probably told to drink a lot of water because the medication you are taking can either dry you out, or is eliminated by the kidneys. i would drink the sports drinks and water, not add salt to water. if you were to add a lot of salt (more than your normal diet) your body would have way to much sodium in it when your infection was treated, and too much sodium bad too. water intoxication occurs at a very high volume of water. talk to your pharmacist, but probably increasing the ammount of water you drink reasonably and drinking 8 ounces of water with your medication should do the trick. if you are nervouse about the sodium thing then do the sports drinks.

Answer 3

Like the typical "sports drinks", it should not taste too salty. You can make your own a lot cheaper. Good idea. Try sea salt, from a health food store. It has a wider variety of minerals. Also, add a touch of lemon juice. Squeezed from a real lemon, not from a bottle. As for how much -- trust your taste. If it is too salty, then it is saltier than your own body. If it tastes neutral, it's just about right. A little bit should do it.

Answer 4

Are you working out? Athletes add salt because they sweat a lot of it out. If you aren't sweating a lot, you should get plenty of salt in a normal diet. You could consider getting salt tablets and taking those as well.

Answer 5

There is naturally occurring sodium in your foods. If you are worried that your sodium is to low, ask your doctor how much you should be adding. Otherwise you should be getting enough sodium in your food.