Have Hyperkalemia? Read This Before Trying a Baking Soda Remedy

苏打水（通常称为小苏打）具有许多与家庭和健康相关的用途。有时甚至被用作一种疗法，以帮助中和血液中升高的钾，这种疾病称为高钾血症。

Read on to learn more.

根据克利夫兰诊所, anyone can get hyperkalemia. However, kidney disease is often a factor. "Your kidneys filter potassium from the foods and drinks you consume," they explain. "Your body gets rid of excess potassium when you pee. With hyperkalemia, your body has too much potassium for your kidneys to remove. As a result, potassium builds up in your blood."

It makes sense that the most common causes of elevated potassium are conditions that affect the kidney's ability to filter excess potassium from the blood and into the urine. These conditions include acute and chronickidney failure和obstructive causes of kidney disease, such as kidney stones and cysts.

Other conditions that increase the risk of high potassium include Addison's disease, alcoholism and diabetes.

升高钾的最初症状通常是轻度和非特异性的。根据National Kidney Foundation（NKF），“通常没有警告信号，这意味着一个人在不知道的情况下可以拥有高钾。”

钾既是矿物质，也是电解质，如University of Michigan Health。It helps muscles and nerves work properly and keeps cell fluids balanced. It has a kind of teeter-totter relationship with sodium: As sodium levels go down, potassium levels go up — and vice versa.

正常钾水平在3.6至5之间。根据梅奥诊所。Serum potassium levels higher than 6.0 millimoles per liter indicate a serious medical condition requiring immediate attention.

Even small changes in blood potassium levels can have significant health effects, says the NKF. Nausea, weakness and tingling or numbness in the extremities are a few of the milder symptoms of too-high potassium.

One of the most dangerous hyperkalemia complications is arrhythmias, or心律异常。这些会导致头晕，呼吸急促，胸痛和心脏病发作。剩下的未治疗，即使是轻度的高钾血症也会损害心脏。

Treatment for hyperkalemia varies based on what's causing it. When elevated potassium results from too much acidity in the blood (a condition called acidosis), a baking soda remedy is sometimes prescribed.

Bicarbonate of soda is commonly called baking soda because it is used as a leavening agent. However, it occurs naturally in all living things. Because sodium bicarbonate is alkaline, it helps organisms maintain the proper pH balance. It neutralizes the acidity of the blood by increasing the movement of potassium out of the blood and into the cells, according to theU.S. National Library of Medicine。

The梅奥诊所notes that when sodium bicarbonate is prescribed as a medicine, the dosage will be different for different patients. The NLM cautions that it should be taken exactly as directed in order to avoid potentially dangerous side effects.

如果您经历了高钾血症或酸中毒的症状 - 疲劳伴随恶心or vomiting, weakness and drowsiness — consult your physician before attempting the baking soda remedy yourself.