Hypomagnesemia is a decrease in the amount of magnesium in the blood, usually less than 1.5 mg/dL and is a common disorder in hospitalized patients, which is often associated with disorders of other minerals, such as calcium and potassium.
Magnesium disorders don’t usually cause specific symptoms, but when associated with calcium and potassium disorders, symptoms such as cramps and tingling may occur.
- Therefore.
- Treatment should not only correct magnesium levels and complications that may occur.
- But also balance calcium and potassium levels.
Symptoms of hypomagnesaemia are not specific to this alteration, but are caused by alterations of other minerals, such as calcium and potassium, so symptoms such as:
There may also be cardiac changes, especially in case of hypokalemia, which is a decrease in potassium, and if the person has an electrocardiogram, an abnormal trace may appear in the result.
Hypomagnesemia is caused mainly by a low absorption of magnesium in the intestine or a marked loss of the mineral in the urine. In the first case, the most common is that there are diseases of the intestine that impair the absorption of magnesium, or this may be the result of a diet low in magnesium, as in patients who cannot eat and can only have serum in their veins .
If magnesium is lost through urine, this can occur by using diuretics, which increase the amount of urine removed, or by the use of other types of kidney-affecting medications, such as antifungal amphotericin b or the cisplatin chemotherapy drug, which can result in a loss of magnesium in the urine.
Chronic alcoholism can also cause hypomagnesemia in both directions, as it is common to have a low intake of magnesium in the diet and alcohol has a direct effect on the removal of magnesium in the urine.
When magnesium deficiency is mild, it is generally recommended to follow a diet richer in foods with magnesium sources, such as Brazil nuts and spinach, for example; However, when dietary changes alone are not enough, your doctor may recommend that you use magnesium supplements.or you come out. Although they have good effects, these supplements should not be the first choice as they can cause side effects like diarrhea.
In addition, since magnesium deficiency does not occur in isolation, potassium and calcium deficiencies also need to be corrected.
In the most severe chaos, in which magnesium levels do not increase easily, your doctor may go to the hospital to administer magnesium sulfate directly into your vein.
Magnesium decline is often associated with changes in other minerals, which causes:
Low potassium levels (hypokalaemia): Occurs mainly because the causes of hypokalaemia and hypomagnesaemia are very similar, i.e. when one is very common to have the other too, hypomagnesaemia increases potassium elimination in the urine, contributing to an even greater decrease in potassium levels.Learn about hypokalaemia and when it occurs;
Low calcium (hypocalcaemia): This occurs because hypomagnesaemia causes secondary hypoparathyroidism, that is, decreases the release of the hormone PTH by parathyroids and makes the organs insensitive to PTH, preventing the hormone from acting.The main function of PTH is to maintain normal blood calcium levels.Therefore, when there is no action of PTH, calcium levels decrease.Learn more about the causes and symptoms of hypocalcaemia.
Since hypomagesis is almost always associated with these changes, treatment involves not only correcting magnesium levels and diseases that may be the cause, but also balancing calcium and potassium levels.