Seawater poisoning: symptoms and treatment

After a long working day, many of us choose to rest on the seaside. After all, it is the bright, warm sun and healing sea water that have a positive effect on our body, help restore strength and replenish the energy supply. We all know that sea water has a lot of useful properties. It has a beneficial effect on the general condition, as well as on the skin and hair. Speaking about the exceptional benefits of sea water, it is worth mentioning the dangers that it hides. Further we will consider, than sea water for an organism, especially children's is dangerous. What to do if there is poisoning with sea water. And also what symptoms may occur and what the treatment is.

Properties of sea water

A few words about the composition of sea water. As we know, it is saline-bitter in taste. This is because in a liter of water contains about 35 grams of different salts. Sea water contains a large number of useful trace elements. Here is a list of only the most:

• 27.27 grams of table salt.
• 3.8 grams of magnesium chloride.
• 1.7 grams of magnesium sulfate.
• 1.3 grams of potassium sulfate.
• 0,8 grams of calcium sulphate.

Studies have shown that almost all chemical elements in the Mendeleyev table are contained in sea water.

Why not drink sea water, what is its danger? And why can it harm the human body?

Why you can not drink seawater

From the above, we learned that sea water contains a large number of different salts. Only a liter of sea water has a daily rate of the required amount of salt for a person. As you know, the liquid that enters the human body is necessarily processed by the kidneys. This is a kind of filter of our body.

If you drink water with such a concentration of salts and various chemical compounds, our kidneys need to work several times more, and this is a huge burden on the body. As a result, stones can form, various diseases may arise, and in some cases it can even lead to death. Our body simply may not have enough water to remove excess salts. As a result - dehydration. Therefore, it is necessary to know the signs of poisoning with sea water. Since small children also rest on the sea, we need to know how to act, if the baby is poisoned by sea water, notice the first symptoms. Further we will consider, why such poisonings happen.

The causes of sea water poisoning

Seawater poisoning can occur for several reasons:

• Water has a large number of pathogenic microbes.
• Being in the water of garbage, waste, and also animals.
• The nearby industrial production.

Of course, do not forget that near you in one water may be unhealthy people.

All these factors can cause poisoning with sea water. Particularly susceptible to these factors are small children, because they have not yet formed immunity, and often to the seacoast children are brought after the diseases, and therefore, their body is weakened. Therefore, seawater poisoning in the child is quite possible.

How can you poison yourself with sea water

There are several ways of poisoning with sea water:

• If swallowed when swimming or diving.
• Drinking water from shallow wells.
• The ingress of sea water for food, drinks.
• Non-compliance with personal hygiene after taking sea baths.

Children have very sensitive mucous membranes and the immune system to climate change. Therefore, while staying at sea, the child can react sharply to the effect of saturated saline solution on the mucous membranes. For this reason, it is not worth it for a child to stay in the water for a long time.

What are the symptoms of seawater poisoning?

If there is poisoning with sea water, the symptoms will be:

• Nausea.
• Vomiting.
• Stomach ache.
• Diarrhea.

All these signs tell us that the intestines and stomach are irritated. Additional symptoms may appear, such as:

• Convulsions.
• The body temperature rose to a high level.
• Weakness.
• A sharp decrease or increase in blood pressure.
• Disorders in the work of the cardiovascular system.
• Puffiness.
• Uncertainty of consciousness.

These are signals that a very serious infection has penetrated the body.

In childhood, if there is poisoning with seawater, the symptoms of the child are very similar to adults, but at sea, a number of other infections and conditions can join the poisoning, for example, such as:

• Enterovirus enteritis.
• The child can easily overheat or get a sunstroke.
• Due to the imperfect system of thermoregulation, the organism of the child is much more difficult to pass through the acclimatization period.

Sea water, especially having a large number of pathogens, can become one of the factors that will contribute to the development of these conditions in the child.

In children, it is most often a rotavirus or enteroviral infection.

Who is most often prone to sea water poisoning?

It is possible to single out the categories of people who are most at risk of getting poisoned by sea water:

• People who are hungry.
• If there are active motor loads for a long time.
• When using certain medications.
• Continuous use of ecstasy.

This behavior is typical of young people, the younger generation. You need to be very careful on the water. The body can not withstand hyperhydration. In this case, the brain, organs, heart can not cope with excess fluid.

And of course, it is worth remembering that children are also at risk.

When to hurry to the doctor

Usually poisoning with sea water is a rare phenomenon. If, however, you have the above symptoms in mild form, then diet and drinking simple clean water will be enough, if the condition does not improve and some symptoms persist, it is necessary to hurry to the doctor. Namely:

• Vomiting does not stop within a day.
• Diarrhea is frequent and profuse.
• The urine darkened.
• There was a skin rash.
• Impaired breathing.
• Difficulty swallowing.
• There were edemas.

In any case, it is necessary to consult a doctor if the child is less than 3 years old, even with mild symptoms of intoxication.

How to treat poisoning with sea water

Treatment of this type of poisoning depends on its severity. Thus, with mild nausea and weakness, it is sufficient to increase the amount of fresh water in the diet. It will remove toxins, and in a day it will be much easier.

If there is diarrhea or vomiting, then it is necessary to use not only fresh water for treatment. It will be necessary to connect to the drugs drugs that will not allow dehydration, such as:

• "Regidron."
• "Hydrovit."

Also, in order to remove toxins, we use:

• Activated carbon.
• "Smecta".
• Enterosgel.
• Polysorb.

At an elevated temperature we use:

• "Paracetamol".
• "Analgin".

If there are new symptoms, while the condition does not improve, and home remedies do not help, you need to urgently consult a doctor. He will prescribe antibacterial therapy. Independently you can not choose such drugs, because an incorrectly selected antibiotic will only weaken the body, but will not defeat the infection.

How to treat a child with sea water poisoning

If seawater poisoning occurs in a child, the treatment will also depend on the severity of the intoxication.

At the first symptoms of poisoning it is necessary to give the child more to drink fresh and purified water. You can add activated charcoal. If a child suffers from water and is sick, then the first thing to do is to induce vomiting.

Did the child have a fever in addition to diarrhea and vomiting? Here we are talking about rotavirus intoxication or enterovirus infection. In this case, the treatment should be prescribed only by a doctor. Here, induce vomiting does not make sense, it is better to call a doctor immediately.

It is worth noting which drugs can be used in the treatment of children and what the therapy is in case of poisoning with sea water:

• Restore the water balance will help "Regidron". It can be replaced with the following solution: per liter of water, one teaspoon of salt and five teaspoons of sugar. You can also use mineral water without gas.
• If nevertheless it is a rotavirus infection, then "Citovir" is widely used. Antibiotic should appoint only a doctor.
• It's good to use Smecta. It helps to eliminate toxins and contribute to the normalization of the stool. It can be used between drugs.
• Lowering the fever will help "Paracetamol". Use "Aspirin" for this in children is not safe.
• It is necessary to keep the diet for a while, and in the early days it is recommended not to eat any food, and drink as much as possible.

How to avoid poisoning with sea water

In order to prevent poisoning with sea water, the symptoms and treatment should be familiar to you (for first aid to yourself or for close people), and some rules of staying at sea:

• Bathe only on clean beaches. Avoid places near industrial plants.
• The accumulation of a large number of algae also carries a danger. Especially do not allow children to swim there.
• Before going to the beach do not overeat.
• Be sure to have clean drinking water and a hat.
• In the first-aid kit should always be such drugs as activated charcoal, "Enterosorbent", "Enterofuril", and also "Ranitidine", "Omeprazole".

Poisoning with sea water is very rare. It is necessary to know the measure in everything. Be attentive to your children. And then the life-giving sea water, which stores a sea of beneficial microelements, will bring a lot of benefits to your body. At the first sign of poisoning, especially if it is a small child, it is necessary to call a doctor, so as not to miss a more serious infection.