Symptoms Of Potassium Deficiency From Diarrhea

Potassium is an essential body mineral derived from the diet. All human cells contain potassium, which supports the metabolic functions of the body tissues. Severe diarrhea can cause significant losses of total body potassium, which may lead to a potassium deficiency, or hypokalemia. The muscles, nerves and heart are particularly sensitive to a potassium deficiency. Malfunctions in these tissues give rise to the usual symptoms associated with hypokalemia. Notably, potassium deficiency symptoms are the same, regardless of the underlying cause.

Numbness and Tingling

Potassium aids in the conduction of nerve signals to and from the body and brain. Severe potassium deficiency can disrupt normal nerve signal conduction, leading to tingling or numbness in the extremities.

Muscle Twitching and Cramps

Normal muscle function depends on an adequate amount of potassium inside and outside the muscle cells. Potassium deficiency can cause muscle cell malfunction, leading to twitching and cramps.

Muscle Weakness and Paralysis

Malfunction of the muscle cells due to a potassium deficiency commonly causes muscle weakness, notes Penn State College of Medicine's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. With severe hypokalemia, muscle weakness may progress to paralysis.

Abnormal Breathing

Muscle weakness associated with a potassium deficiency can affect the respiratory muscles. Breathing may become shallow and increasingly effortful. Paralysis of the respiratory muscles can occur with severe hypokalemia. Respiratory failure requires emergency medical intervention to prevent death.

Muscle Pain and Stiffness

Extreme hypokalemia may cause muscle cell breakdown, or rhabdomyolysis, according to The National Library of Medicine online encyclopedia MedlinePlus. Characteristic symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle stiffness, tenderness and aching pain. The development of hypokalemic rhabdomyolysis frequently leads to additional complications, including acute kidney failure.

Heart Palpitations

Potassium is required for the normal transmission of the electrical signals that control the heart rhythm. A potassium deficiency can disrupt the electrical conduction system of the heart, leading to an abnormal heart rhythm. Patients may experience heart palpitations--a conscious awareness of an abnormal heartbeat. Notably, heart rhythm abnormalities associated with severe hypokalemia can lead to fatal cardiac arrest.

Lightheadedness and Fainting

The kidneys require potassium to maintain water balance in the body. A potassium deficiency disrupts this function, leading to excessive loss of body water through the urine. Water lost with diarrhea combined with increased water loss through the kidneys can cause a significant drop in blood pressure. Low blood pressure frequently causes lightheadedness. With profoundly low blood pressure, fainting may occur upon rising to a sitting or standing position.