The Effect of Salt Loading Diet on the Intraocular Pressure

Salt tablets are habitually ingested by some people while doing physical exercise in hot climate, in order to prevent sodium depletion. The effects of supplementary salt on the intraocular pressure was investigated on 5 healthy acclimatized subjects who rode a bicycle ergometer at temperature of 35 degrees C and relative humidity of 40%. A significant decrease of 1.0 mmHg in their mean intraocular pressure was detected when 10.2 gm NaCl was added daily to the normal diet. The pressure reduction was associated with changes of the body fluid balance.