Electrolyte Imbalances
Your body depends on balanced electrolytes to function properly. When these minerals get out of balance, a cascade of symptoms can occur. Let's explore the major electrolytes and what happens when their levels become abnormal.
Potassium K+ has a normal range of 3.5-5.0. When levels are too high (hyperkalemia), you may experience bilateral muscle weakness, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and heart rhythm problems (dysrhythmias). Severe cases can lead to cardiac arrest. With hypokalemia (low potassium), similar muscle weakness occurs, along with abdominal cramps, decreased bowel sounds, and constipation.
Sodium Na+ should normally range between 135-145. Hypernatremia can cause confusion, lethargy, coma, and intense thirst, with seizures in severe cases. Hyponatremia produces similar neurological symptoms of confusion, lethargy, and coma, plus severe seizures.
Remember This: The suffix "hyper-" means above normal levels, while "hypo-" indicates below normal levels. These prefixes help you quickly identify which type of imbalance you're dealing with!
Magnesium Mg2+ has a normal range of 1.3-2.1. With hypermagnesemia, patients may develop lethargy, slow heart rate (bradycardia), low blood pressure, and decreased reflexes. Acute cases cause flushing and warmth. Severe cases affect breathing and can lead to cardiac arrest. Hypomagnesemia causes overactive reflexes, muscle cramps, facial twitching, swallowing difficulties (dysphagia), tetany, seizures, insomnia, fast heart rate, and high blood pressure.
Calcium Ca2+ normally ranges between 8.5-10.5. Hypocalcemia produces numbness and tingling in extremities and around the mouth, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, hyperactive reflexes, muscle problems, constipation, fatigue, tetany, laryngospasms, seizures, and distinctive carpal and pedal spasms. It can also diminish reflexes and alter consciousness levels.