what does low potassium do to the body

• Overview
  • What Is Low Potassium (Hypokalemia)?
• Causes
  • What Causes Low Potassium?
• Symptoms/Signs
  • What Are Symptoms of Low Potassium?
  • When to Seek Medical Care for Low Potassium
• Diagnosis
  • How Is Low Potassium Diagnosed?
• Treatment
  • What Habitation Remedies Tin can Aid Care for Low Potassium?
  • How Is Depression Potassium Treated?
  • What Is the Follow-upward for Low Potassium?
• Diet
  • How Can You Foreclose Depression Potassium Levels?
• Prognosis
  • What Is the Prognosis for Low Potassium?
• Guide
  • Depression Potassium (Hypokalemia) Topic Guide
  • Doctor's Notes on Low Potassium Symptoms

What Is Low Potassium (Hypokalemia)?

Potassium is a mineral (electrolyte) in the body that is important to maintain several bodily functions.

Potassium is a mineral (electrolyte) in the body. Almost 98% of potassium is institute inside the cells. Small changes in the level of potassium that is present outside the cells tin accept astringent furnishings on the heart, nerves, and muscles.

Potassium is important to maintain several bodily functions:

• Muscles need potassium to contract.
• The heart musculus needs potassium to vanquish properly and regulate blood pressure.

The kidney is the master organ that controls the residuum of potassium by removing backlog potassium into the urine.

When potassium levels are low (hypokalemia), you can go weak as cellular processes are impaired.

• Normal potassium levels are around three.5-5.0 mEq/L (mEq/L stand up for milliequivalents per liter of blood and this is a unit measure used to evaluate the level). Low potassium is divers every bit a potassium level below 3.v mEq/L.
• Almost ane out of 5 people hospitalized in the United states of america has a low potassium level.
• People with eating disorders such every bit anorexia nervosa and bulimia, patients with AIDS, alcoholics, and those who accept had bariatric surgery have a higher incidence of hypokalemia than others.

What Causes Low Potassium?

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Depression potassium can occur for many reasons. Utilise of water pills (diuretics), diarrhea, and chronic laxative corruption are the near common causes of low potassium levels. Affliction and other medications may besides lower potassium levels. Risk factors for low potassium include:

• Female sex
• African-Americans ethnicity

Other causes of hypokalemia include:

Kidney losses

• Certain kidney disorders such as renal tubular acidosis (for example, chronic kidney failure and acute kidney failure)
• Magnesium deficiency
• Leukemia
• Cushing's illness (and other adrenal disorders)

Loss of potassium through stomach and intestines

• Vomiting
• Enemas or excessive laxative use
• Diarrhea
• After ileostomy performance

Side effect of medications

• Water pills (diuretics)
• Medicines used for asthma or emphysema (beta-adrenergic agonist drugs such every bit bronchodilators, steroids, or theophylline)
• Aminoglycosides (a type of antibiotic)

Shifting of potassium into and out of cells

• Employ of insulin
• Certain metabolic states (such as alkalosis)

Decreased food intake or malnutrition

• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Bariatric surgery
• Alcoholism

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What Are Symptoms of Low Potassium?

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Symptoms of low potassium are typically mild and sometimes vague. At that place may be more than than one symptom involving the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, kidneys, muscles, eye, and nerves:

• Weakness, tiredness, or cramping in arm or leg muscles, sometimes severe enough to cause inability to motility artillery or legs due to weakness (much like a paralysis)
• Tingling or numbness
• Nausea or vomiting
• Abdominal cramping, bloating
• Constipation
• Palpitations (feeling your center beat irregularly)
• Passing big amounts of urine or feeling thirsty most of the time
• Fainting due to depression claret pressure
• Abnormal psychological behavior: depression, psychosis, delirium, confusion, or hallucinations

When to Seek Medical Care for Low Potassium

If you are having symptoms of low potassium, call your doctor. If you have muscle cramps, weakness, palpitations, or feel faint and you are taking a diuretic (water pill), contact your healthcare professional or become to an urgent intendance facility or infirmary emergency department immediately.

Without symptoms, you will not know y'all accept low potassium levels until you take a routine blood examination or an electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG).

How Is Low Potassium Diagnosed?

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Sometimes the crusade of low potassium is unclear. Your doctor may perform certain tests to rule out other conditions such as renal tubular acidosis, Cushing syndrome, and hypocalcemia:

• If an electrolyte imbalance is suspected, blood tests will exist ordered check potassium levels, kidney function (BUN and creatinine), glucose, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorous if an electrolyte imbalance is suspected.
• Considering low potassium is known to affect heart rhythms (arrhythmias), your doctor may lodge a digoxin (Lanoxin) level if the patient is taking a digitalis preparation.
• ECG or a middle tracing is done to detect electrical changes in the centre and sure types of irregular heart rhythms that may be acquired past low potassium.

What Dwelling house Remedies Can Aid Treat Low Potassium?

If you are monitoring depression potassium levels, avoid long, strenuous physical activities because loss of potassium occurs with sweating.

If dietary supplements, herbal supplements, diuretics (water pills), or laxatives are causing the depression potassium symptoms, avoid taking these products and talk to your doctor. Never stop taking a prescribed medication without offset consulting your physician.

How Is Low Potassium Treated?

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Potassium replacement therapy volition be directed by the type and severity of the patient'southward symptoms. Treatment begins subsequently lab tests confirm the diagnosis.

Medical Treatment

• People suspected of having severely low potassium need to exist placed on a cardiac monitor and accept an Iv started.
• Usually, those with mild or moderately low potassium levels (2.v-3.5 mEq/50), who have no symptoms, or who have only minor complaints simply demand to be treated with potassium given in pill or liquid form. This is preferred because it is easy to administer, safe, inexpensive, and readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Some preparations, or too high of a dose, may irritate the stomach and crusade airsickness.
• If cardiac arrhythmias or significant symptoms are present or if the potassium level is less than ii.5 mEq/50, Iv potassium should be given. In this situation, admission or observation in the emergency section is indicated. Replacing potassium takes several hours as it must be administered very slowly intravenously to avert serious center problems and avoid irritating the blood vessel where the Iv is placed.
• For those with severely low potassium and symptoms, both Iv potassium and oral medication are necessary.

Precautions

• When potassium is used with medications such equally ACE inhibitors, there is a risk of developing a high level of potassium.
• Potassium-sparing diuretics and potassium-containing salt substitutes tin also result in high potassium levels.

What Is the Follow-upwardly for Low Potassium?

Normally doctors recommend a certain dosage of potassium supplementation and arrange to have a echo blood level taken 2-iii days later.

Your doctor may consider switching to potassium-sparing diuretics (water pills) if the patient needs to continue taking diuretics for another condition.

How Can You Forestall Depression Potassium Levels?

Nutrition changes may be recommended if the patient is likely to develop low potassium levels. Examples of foods high in potassium include:

• Bananas
• Tomatoes
• Oranges
• Cantaloupes
• Peaches

Exercise non overuse diuretics (water pills), and never apply someone else's medications.

If you are taking medication, ask your md how often electrolyte levels need to exist checked.

What Is the Prognosis for Low Potassium?

Low potassium is treatable. The reason for the low potassium must be identified, or it will nearly likely reoccur. With the right therapy, there are typically no farther bug.

QUESTION

A bagel twenty years ago was 3 inches in diameter and had 140 calories. How many calories do you think are in today's bagel? See Reply

From

What Are Electrolytes?

Are there whatsoever risks from low potassium?

Electrolytes are chemicals that the body produces, and the cells in the body need them to function. Examples of electrolytes that the cells demand are sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg).

Reviewed on 3/25/2022

References

Mount, David B. Dr.. "Clinical Manifestations and Treatment of Hypokalemia in Adults." UptoDate. Updated Jan 7, 2016.

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