Hypokalemia
Hypokalemia is when the blood contains lower levels of potassium (K+) than normal.
Some possible causes of hypokalemia may be:
- Antibiotics
- Diarrhea
- Diseases that affect the kidneys' ability to retain potassium (Liddle syndrome and Cushing syndrome)
- Diuretics
- Eating disorders
- Eating large amounts of licorice or other foods with glycyrrhetinic acid
- Magnesium deficiency
- Sweating
- Vomiting[1]
Symptoms of severe hypokalemia include:
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Muscle damage
- Muscle weakness or spasms
- Paralysis (which can include the lungs)[2]
- ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001510/
- ↑ Mount DB, Zandi-Nejad K. Disorders of potassium balance. In: Brenner BM, ed. Brenner and Rector's The Kidney. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:chap 15.