Treatment of Hyperkalemia

Increase in potassium levels in blood, or hyperkalemia, is a common occurrence, especially in patients hospitalized for some other condition. Patients are known to tolerate mild versions of hyperkalemia without much help. Even then, treatment should be mandatory in order to prevent worsening of the condition. Treatment of hyperkalemia consists of hospitalization, medication, and constant monitoring of the patient even after hyperkalemia has been brought under control.

Hospital Care

• As potassium irregularities can lead to fatalities in severe cases, hospitalization is a must for instant management of the condition. The first step involves preventing fatal irregularities of the heartbeat. To regulate this, the myocardial cell membrane or the membrane of the muscles of the heart needs to be immediately stabilized. This process provides the time necessary for the potassium to move back into the cells from the intracellular space and increases the rate of eradicating potassium.

  Intravenous administration of calcium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and calcium gluconate, along with insulin and glucose, as advised by the doctor, steadies the myocardial cell, which protects the heart.

  The doctor might also recommend hemodialysis to aid better potassium eradication from the entire body, especially in cases where medication is not helping. The medical practitioner might advise administration of drugs to fight arrythmia of the heart while the potassium level is dropping.

Consultations

• The patient should consult with a variety of specialists in order to properly tackle the condition of hyperkalemia, which leads from particular ailments. See a nephrologist and nutrition specialist if the hyperkalemia is related to kidney trouble and the patient needs meticulous control of sodium and potassium consumption.

  Parents of children suffering from the condition should bring in a pediatric specialist or neonatologist. Doctors recommend a social services specialist in case the child has hyperkalemia resulting from accidental poisoning.

General Treatment

• Doctors will recommended that the patient go on a low-potassium dietary plan. Dunk any vegetable, before cooking in any style, in boiling water for about a minute to aid in removing potassium. Make sure the diet also contains the least amount of salt possible.

  The patient should immediately discontinue any medication that could lead to an increase in potassium in the blood. Doctors place patients to on diuretic drugs that increase the rate of urination by which excess potassium stored in the body is forcibly eliminated. The doctor may also administer drugs that bind with potassium and result in its removal by egestion.