Tips for Dialysis Patients With High Potassium

The following are some tips for dialysis patients with high potassium level in blood. High potassium level is dangerous for patients. A proper diet and correct treatment is necessary for controlling potassium level.

1. Signs of high potassium level

Cardiovascular symptoms

Elevated potassium will inhibit your myocardium and reduce your cardiac muscle tension. Thus, you may suffer from cardiac dilatation and arrhythmia.

Neuromuscular symptoms

In the early stage, you can have numbness in your arms and legs. Also you can suffer from extreme fatigue, sore muscle and pale limbs.

Other symptoms

Other symptoms of high potassium level include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, quadriplegia and respiratory arrest.

2. What causes high potassium in dialysis patients?

Healthy kidneys can balance potassium level and other electrolytes. However, when kidneys are damaged, they fail to discharge excess potassium level out of your body. In this condition, potassium will accumulate in your body, causing high potassium level. Dialysis is an artificial kidney which helps injured kidneys to discharge some of potassium and other excessive substances from your body. High potassium level can be reduced by dialysis to some extent. However, it is not enough because dialysis is unable to repair your kidney damage and improve your renal function. That is, your potassium level will increase again after dialysis.

3. How to reduce high potassium level in dialysis patients?

The radical therapy is to improve your own kidney function. Only in this way can elevated potassium level be reduced effectively. We recommend Chinese medicine therapies to improve renal function. Chinese medicine therapies include Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy, Medicated Bath, Mai Kang Mixture, Moxibustion Therapy, Medicinal Soup, Steaming Therapy and Cupping Therapy, etc. Different illness condition will be given different therapy. Besides, these therapies are only available in China so foreign patients need to come to China for treatment.

Another therapy for lowering high potassium level is a proper diet. Foods with high potassium level should be avoided.

For example

Vegetables: Dark leafy green vegetables, nori, carrot, mushroom, potato

Fruits: bananas, oranges and fresh orange juice

Nuts: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chestnut and fibert

Beans: yellow beans

Grains: whole grains and wheat germ

Dairy products: milk powder and cream

Others: chocolate, groundnut kernels, raisin and salted cans

If you have any question on lowering high potassium level in dialysis, you can leave a message below or consult our online doctor directly.