Patient's question:
What kind of diseases can be treated in general internal medicine? What is hyperosmolar dehydration?Doctor's answer:
In cases of insufficient water intake or excessive water loss from the body, both water and sodium are lost from the body fluids, but the loss of water is greater than that of sodium, leading to a serum sodium level below the normal range, an extracellular fluid in a hyperosmotic state, which constitutes hyperosmotic dehydration. Long-term chronic diseases or patients in a coma with insufficient water intake may develop hyperosmotic dehydration. Additionally, individuals who lose a significant amount of water from the body and do not replenish it promptly are also prone to hyperosmotic dehydration, such as patients with extensive burns or workers engaged in long-term high-temperature tasks, who require timely intravenous fluid administration to alleviate the condition.