Electrolytes are minerals in your cells and blood that conduct electrical impulses and messages. You can lose these minerals through sweat, excessive vomiting, diarrhea and excessive exercise. When these electrolytes are not replaced, problems can result that lead to muscle cramping and weakness. The electrolytes of your body include sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, chloride and bicarbonate. Maintaining the balance of each electrolyte keeps your body functioning properly.
Sodium
Sodium is the predominant electorlyte in the body. Normal levels of sodium in your blood range from 135 to 145 mEq/L. Signs and symptoms of sodium deficiency or jyponatremia include muscle weakness, low blood pressure and rapid heart beat at rest. Your water balance in your body is governed by sodium, so when levels drop because of excessive sweating, your nerves have a difficult time maintaining proper function for both muscular systems, heart and skeletal muscle. In some cases with hyponatremia, you can have symptoms of nausea and vomiting because of too much fluid on your brain. Hyponatremia can result from too much sodium loss from diarrhea, sweating or result from fluid overload and dilute the amount of sodium in your body.
Potassium
Potassium is the major positively charged mineral inside your cells. Normal potassium levels are maintained between 3.5 to 5.5 mEq/L. Potassium serves to attack water inside your cells to hydrate individual cells. Signs of hypokalemia or low potassium levels include dizziness, muscle weakness with tenderness to the touch, cramping, confusion, poor appetite, excessive thirst and abnormal heart function. Causes that lead to low potassium levels are long-term use of potassium depleting diurectics and diarrhea. Anyone who has had an episode of high potassium levels because of pH changes in the blood to a more acidic level are at risk of developing low potassium levels. Once the acidosis has been corrected, potassium is then shuttled back inside the cell causing blood levels to rapidly drop.
Magnesium
Magnesium electrolyte activity involves improving muscle function by relaxing muscles in opposition to calcium causing contractions. Chronic alcoholism, being critically ill, cirrhosis of the liver, and high blood pressure associated with pregnancy -- called preeclampsia -- can cause deficiency in magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is often associated with potassium and calcium deficiencies. Symptoms of low magnesium levels include tremors and muscle weakness, leg and foot cramps, Chvostek's and Trousseau's signs of neuromuscular transmission, blood vessel dilation and low blood pressure.
Calcium and Phosphorus
Calcium is an electrolyte despite being the chief mineral found in building and maintaining proper bone density. Calcium causes muscle contractions for voluntary muscles, such as when you workout or perform a daily task, but also causes contractions of involuntary muscles found in the digestive tract or your heart. Signs and symptoms of low blood calcium levels include fatigue, lethargy, sudden seizures, bone pain and high phosphorus levels. Calcium and phosphorus are inter-related in the body and when calcium levels are too low, phosphorus levels rise. When phosphorus levels are low, calcium levels are artificially elevated. Symptoms of low phosphorus levels include change in mental status, constipation, lack of sounds in your digestive tract, nausea and unintentional weight loss.
Chloride and Bicarbonate
Chloride is the major negatively charged mineral in the body. Bicarbonate is produced by the pancreas in order to neutralize food mixed with stomach acid leaving the stomach and entering the small intestines. Both electrolytes maintain acid-base buffering system of the blood. Symptoms of low chloride are low, shallow breathing, muscle twitching and high sodium levels. Low bicarbonate levels are characterized by acidosis of the blood. Negatively charged anions are kept in a tight reference range because of the opposing action of neutralizing acid accumulation from high mineral content of the blood from other electrolytes.
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