Excess Potassium And Its Complications “Too Much Of Anything Is Harmful”

Electrolytes play a major role in the vital functions of the organs. Our bodies are made up of electrolytes, the electrolytes are the sphere of minerals and they are involved in nerve conduction, muscle contraction, functioning of the heart, maintaining the acid-base balance in the blood, regulating the body fluids level, controlling the blood pressure and also in the absorption of nutrients and excretion of wastes from the body.

Our bodies are made of electrolytes that contain either positive or negative charges. The essential electrolytes present in our body are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, etc. The electrolyte levels should maintain an equilibrium. Yet, often there is an electrolyte imbalance that causes a rise or fall in the levels thus, leading to certain serious medical conditions. Since electrolytes are involved in maintaining the fluid balance, consuming an adequate amount of water equivalent to the amount of water drained out of the body is recommended. If this equilibrium fails, it can end up in an accumulation of body fluids in the organs or cause dehydration.

Potassium is one such essential electrolyte that is responsible for nerve conduction and functioning of muscles such as muscle contraction including the cardiac muscle. If there is an increase in potassium levels in your body, it leads to a medical condition referred to as hyperkalemia. Hyperkalemia can occur as a result of type 1 diabetes, heart failure, chronic alcoholism, or consumption of medications that block the renal enzymes such as e.g ACE 2 inhibitors class of drugs or chemotherapy drugs.

However, people with kidney disease are prone to have high potassium levels. Kidneys are the organs that cause the excretion of excess potassium from the body, but those with impairment in Kidney function are unable to eliminate the potassium and that leads to the overbuild of potassium in their bodies. Actually, either hyperkalemia can cause renal disease or renal disease can level up the potassium levels.  

Generally, people with high potassium levels experience symptoms such as irregular heartbeat, trouble breathing, chest pain, muscle cramps, and a tingling sensation. The presence of excess potassium in your blood can be found by performing a blood test. Doctors recommend having an electrolyte profile done annually to detect any electrolyte abnormalities in our bodies.

Treatment for high potassium levels aims to eliminate the excessive amount of potassium from the body. Dialysis is performed for chronic kidney disease patients to remove the excess potassium as their kidneys are under-functioning or completely impaired. There are also certain drugs used to treat hyperkalemia, including diuretics and intravenous fluids such as calcium gluconate and resins. 

Resins are the medications that are otherwise called ion exchange resins, which can be taken via mouth. Calcium polystyrene sulphonate is the resin that is used extensively in the treatment of hyperkalemia. The k bind powder is one of the products that consist of calcium polystyrene sulphonate. Calcium polystyrene sulphonate acts by binding to the excess potassium and forms potassium polystyrene. This potassium polystyrene gets flushed out via feces without letting the potassium get absorbed in the blood. Thereby, this ion exchange resin works by decreasing the potassium levels.

Although, it is advised to see medical advice and it should be consumed as directed by the doctors. It would be better to inform your doctor about your other medical conditions and your medication history as they may get affected by this ion exchange resin medication.