Hypernatremia and hypokalemia refer to a higher than normal sodium level (i.e. hypernatremia) and a lower than normal potassium level (i.e. hypokalemia) in the blood, which are electrolyte metabolism disorders in the human body. If you have hypernatremia and hypokalemia, it is recommended that you seek medical attention to find out the cause and treat the symptoms.
- Hypernatremia
Hypernatremia is defined as a condition in which serum sodium exceeds 145 mmol/L. It is commonly seen in: hyperadrenocorticism, such as Cushing’s syndrome, primary aldosteronism; hypertonic dehydration; cerebral hypernatremia, such as traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident, pituitary tumor, etc.; excessive sodium intake, such as hypertonic saline injection or excessive sodium intake with renal dysfunction; sodium retention edema, commonly seen in heart disease, heart failure, liver cirrhosis, kidney disease, etc.
Patients with hypernatremia should seek medical attention and actively treat the primary disease. In daily life, they should eat less food with high sodium content, such as salt, soy sauce, pickles, kimchi, soy sauce meat, bacon, bacon and other foods with high salt content, and less than 6 grams of salt per person per day is recommended for healthy people. - Hypokalemia
Hypokalemia refers to the potassium content in the blood less than 3.5mmol/L. Patients may have numbness and pain in the limbs, movement disorders, and nausea, vomiting, anorexia, abdominal distention, constipation and other digestive system manifestations, and in serious cases, they may show breathing difficulties, drowsiness or coma, and even life-threatening.
Causes of hyponatremia include: decreased potassium intake, such as long-term partial eating, anorexia, weight loss, etc., and increased potassium entering the cells; loss of gastrointestinal tract, such as long-term massive vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal biliary drainage or fistula; loss of urine, renal diseases, such as renal tubular acidosis, Liddle syndrome, Bartter and Gitelman syndrome, polyuric phase of acute renal failure, etc. Certain endocrine diseases; use of certain antibiotics, such as penicillin, gentamicin, etc.; loss of sweat, excessive loss of potassium, which can cause potassium deficiency if not replenished in time, such as long-term high-temperature work; others, such as large burns, abdominal drainage, and release of ascites.
Patients with hypokalemia should seek medical attention and actively treat the primary disease. In daily life, they should eat more foods with high potassium content, such as vegetables, fruits, coarse grains and miscellaneous grains, etc. If they want to take medication, it is recommended to do so under the guidance of a doctor.
