Your body needs potassium, which it can get from foods you eat. This metallic nutrient assists in maintaining fluid content in cells, regulating blood pressure, transmitting nerve impulses, voluntary and involuntary muscle contraction, and the heartbeat. Potassium also helps balance sodium in your body; eating too much salt also affects your potassium levels. Illness, diet, lifestyle and certain medications can cause a potassium deficiency, leading to symptoms that include edema, or swelling. Edema may be a symptom of a serious disorder; consult your doctor to determine the cause.
Edema
Edema is also referred to as fluid retention and dropsy, and is swelling that most commonly occurs in your legs, ankles and feet. It is caused by abnormally large quantities of fluid trapped in the spaces between your cells or in your circulatory system. It typically occurs in elderly people and pregnant women. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that edema has several underlying causes, and is typically a symptom of other disorders, including some serious illnesses.
Causes
Causes of edema range from minor to serious. They include sitting or standing in one position for too long; strenuous physical exertion, especially in high altitudes or temperatures; injury or infection to a blood vessel; varicose veins; blood clots; high or low blood pressure; hormonal changes during menstruation and pregnancy; and eating salty foods. Certain medications that decrease potassium levels can also lead to edema. More serious causes include allergic reactions, brain tumor, head injury, or heart, liver, kidney or thyroid disease.
Potassium
Potassium, as an important essential mineral in all your body cells, has an important function in conducting nerve impulses, and is critical for healthy heart, digestive and muscular function. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that a balance of potassium in your body is important in maintaining healthy blood pressure. Potassium levels depend on the amounts of magnesium and sodium in your blood. Too much salt may require higher levels of potassium to balance it out. Excessive sweating, diarrhea, vomiting and malnutrition, and malabsorption illnesses such as Crohn's disease can also cause a deficiency of potassium in the body. This can lead to your body retaining fluid as it tries to increase potassium levels, leading to edema.
Medications
Several medications cause a side effect of excessive potassium loss through the urine. This can lead to a lack of potassium in your body, causing swelling. Medications that decrease this mineral include loop diuretics, thiazide diuretics and metolazone. Diuretics, also termed water pills, help to eliminate water and sodium from the body to treat high blood pressure. This can also lead to hypokalemia or low blood potassium, causing fatigue, weakness, muscle cramping and heart arrhythmias.
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