child craving salt?

[Loowit]

Is this something I should be concerned about?

 

My DS (10) has been craving salty foods for a while now, I would say about 6 months.  He even asked for a salt lick in his letter to Santa.  He licks himself and sometimes other family members (mostly me) saying he likes the salty taste.  I thought it was just a phase, but now I am not so sure. He was supposed to have a check up with his regular pediatrician this week and I was going to bring it up, but she is now out of the office for a while due to a health problem, so his appointment was delayed.  I could get him in to see another doctor I suppose, but I prefer to see his regular one because she knows his medical history.

[kandesmom]

Do you use refined salt or unrefined like himalayan or sea salt? The refined salt has little nutritional value. There could be an iodine deficiency.

[Loowit]

We mostly use regular table salt, though I have some other that I use on occasion.  I always buy salt with iodine. 

[mathnerd]

I am following this because my child craves salt - does not lick, but asks for extra salt on his pretzels and sprinkles salt on his soup and dishes etc. We are generally low sodium eaters and he sweats a lot (he gets drenched when exercising and he does a lot of rigorous sports). So, I attributed his craving to losing a lot of sodium due to sweating and I give him electrolytes in a drink every time he plays sports. But, I would like to see what the others on this thread are saying as well.

[Spryte]

I would ask his doc about it.  How long will she be out?  

 

For the sake of info, I crave salt - but I have Addison's Disease, and tend to crave salt when it is not properly controlled.  In the months before I was diagnosed, it was pretty darn intense.  There are other conditions that can cause salt cravings, though I don't know all of them.

 

I don't necessarily think your child has Addison's though.  :)  You might consider any other symptoms he's having.  Is he tired a lot?  Does he have darkening of the skin in areas?  Any thing unusual for him?  If the salt craving is the only symptom, I'd still get it checked, but it would be helpful for your doc to hear about any other symptoms, and assessing those other symptoms might give you an idea about whether to get him in quickly or wait for your usual doc.

 

 

[clementine]

Does he have allergies?  This can be a side-effect of some allergies, I think.

[Loowit]

He has been more tired lately.  He was my one that never sleeps, he would get 5 or 6 hours on a good night.  Lately he has been very sleepy, but I caulked it up to him being on a new medication that has sleepiness as a side effect.  He also has food allergies - peanuts and almonds.  He hasn't had any darkening of the skin, but he had sudden weight gain that stared about 18 months ago, but all of his thyroid tests came back in the normal range.

[Spryte]

Is there any correlation between the new med and the salt craving?

 

I'd probably want him seen. Fatigue and salt craving were my main symptoms until I went into a crisis, and got diagnosed. No skin darkening here either. But Addison's is very rare, so I wouldn't worry too much about that one. It's unlikely. But ... Check anyway.

 

I hope it's something simple. Or nothing.

 

BTW, my mom loves salt so much that we really did give her a salt lick for Christmas one year, as a joke. :)