Potassium deficiency?
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at
10:30 AM
Could anyone tell me the signs or symptoms of potassium deficiency?
Filed under: Potassium Side Effects
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Well potassium is a mineral that plays an important role maintaining the water and acid balance in blood and tissue cells, assists in muscle building, and transmits electrical signals between cells and nerves among many many other functions.
That said, some signs or symptoms of potassium deficiency are
* Fatigue
* Muscular weakness
* Confusion
* Skin related problems such as blistering, skin eruptions, dryness of skin etc.
* Temporary memory loss or problems such as weak memory etc.
* Heart related problems, such as heart deterioration and cardiac arrhythmias
* Digestive system also may get affected due to potassium deficiency leading to hypertension, improper sleep, nervous system deterioration, depression, constipation etc.
* In some cases ringing/noise in ear.
Potassium deficiency can be due to extra excretion of Potassium ( most common in excessive diarrhea and vomiting, and when using some medication like diuretics, cortisones and drugs for controlling high blood pressure) or lower quantity of Potassium in daily diet.
More patient information here:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-effects-of-potassium-deficiency.htm
The symptoms of potassium deficiency include muscle weakness, confusion, irritability, fatigue, and heart disturbances. Athletes with low potassium stores may tire more easily during exercise, as potassium deficiency causes a decrease in glycogen (the fuel used by exercising muscles) storage
very low weight. Often feels week or sleepy. Pail skin
muscles always fell tired.
dark circles around your eyes, tiredness, and sometimes light headedness
heart pain
Achy muscles and leg cramps are one of the many symptoms of potassium deficiency.
This can actually be pretty serious, so here are some more and a link to an article.
Muscle Cramps
Muscle Fatigue and Weakness
Irregular Heartbeat
Fatigue
Mental Confusion
Irritability
Abnormally Dry Skin
Insatiable Thirst
Chills
Depression
Nausea and Vomiting
Nervousness
Insomnia
Diarrhea
Low Blood Pressure
Periodic Headaches
Salt Retention
Constipation
High Cholesterol Levels
Glucose Intolerance
Impaired Growth
Edema
Extreme cases, cardiac arrest
http://www.nutritional-supplement-educational-centre.com/symptoms-of-low-potassium.html
You need to clarify — Are you talking about in a human? A plant?
For humans, a potassium deficiency gives very similar symptoms to a lack of electrolytes, mainly because it is an electrolyte. Eat a banana to help this, and gatorade/powerade will help replenish.
For plants, Potassium deficiency can be shown in certain species by a purple hue in the plant’s leaves. This does not ALWAYS mean that the plant is deficient in potassium, but in plants such as marigolds it is true.
killer charlie horses.
I’m not quite sure about symptoms; you might want to look that up on webmd.com. But I do know that bananas are a good source of potassium in case you already have deficiency.
EAT BANANAS AND U WILL BE FINE :]
Elevated blood pressure, weakness and fatigue are the most common symptoms.
Eat potassium-rich foods like bananas, peanuts and potatoes and reduce your sodium intake.
Although severe potassium deficiency is rare, moderate deficiency is quite common and is associated with higher blood pressure, salt sensitivity, and risk of muscle weakness, kidney stones, and bone loss. it may also increase the risk of stroke and other forms of heart disease .