What Should I Do If I Experience a High Level of Potassium

High levels of potassium, also called hyperkalemia. It usually appears as one suffers from Acute Renal Failure or happens in people on dialysis. Hyperkalemia refers to the kalemia level higher than 6mmol/L, it can cause arrhythmia or even death.

Why would that happen?

Potassium is usually excreted by kidneys. They struggle to process fluids, electrolytes and wastes even in their best days, let alone those who have already suffered from Renal Failure and their kidney function has been impaired greatly.

Some of the potassium comes from our daily diet. Normally speaking, healthy kidneys excrete more kalium as you take foods high in the mineral; if you eat less, then excrete less. One thing you need to remember is that even you don’t take any foods containing kalium, your kidneys still excrete the kalium.

Patients with Renal Failure can’t remove the mineral from the blood anymore because of their impaired kidney function, which explains why the kalemia soars.

What are the common symptoms of kalemia?

Weakness of limbs, numb tongues, arrhythmia or even cardiac arrest as a result of high levels of potassium. Whatever those with dialysis or develop Renal Failure, limiting the potassium intake is always a wise choice.

How to avoid from what we eat?

You can stay away from foods high in potassium, such as chocolate, cocoa, coffee, tea, sport beverage, bananas, loquat, oranges, carambola, tomato, potato, mushroom, agaric, carrot, cabbage, spinach, kelp, sodium salt and so on and so forth.

Learn to read labels on the packages, it is right there. This is also one way to avoid food high in kalium.