news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Source: Wenzhou Evening News, People's Daily Online

Original title: "After eating a few pieces of seaweed, a 40-year-old man in Wenzhou was admitted to the ICU! Doctor: Severe cases can be fatal"

Mr. He, 40, never thought that he would be admitted to the intensive care unit because of eating seaweed. Recently, a hospital in Wenzhou received such a patient.

Mr. He likes to drink alcohol, drinking 7 liang of liquor every day, and he also likes to drink seaweed and kelp. A month ago, after drinking at home, Mr. He suddenly developed liver cirrhosis and was sent to the infectious department of a hospital in Wenzhou for treatment. The examination found that Mr. He also had hyperkalemia, so he was treated with potassium reduction. However, Mr. He's blood potassium level remained high after multiple potassium reduction treatments. The blood potassium level was still a critical value of 6.59mmol/L, and he was urgently sent to the intensive care unit for treatment.

This puzzled the medical staff until the nurse discovered that Mr. He ate his own seaweed in addition to the therapeutic diet issued by the hospital's dietetic department. Mr. He told the nurse that he usually liked to drink white wine with seaweed or kelp. This time, he knew the hospital's rules and was not allowed to drink, so he wanted to bring some seaweed to satisfy his craving.

He had three meals a day, thinking that even if he added seaweed to each meal, it would only be about 2 taels of seaweed per meal, which would make his life more enjoyable. Unexpectedly, it almost cost him his life. Fortunately, the nurse stopped him from eating seaweed in time. After two days of potassium-lowering treatment, Mr. He's blood potassium level dropped to 4.07mmol/L, and he was successfully transferred to the general ward for further treatment.

How can ordinary seaweed be so dangerous to some people? "Seaweed is a very common home-cooked vegetable. Its potassium content is very surprising. It is a typical high-potassium food.Every 2 taels of seaweed contains 1796 mg of potassium. If you eat it three times a day, your potassium intake will be quite high.The doctor said,Excessive potassium intake can cause hyperkalemia, which can be fatal.

According to doctors, hyperkalemia is an electrolyte disorder caused by abnormal potassium ion metabolism, which is mainly caused by increased potassium content in the body or restricted potassium excretion. Normal blood potassium is 3.5~5.3mmol/L. If it is higher than 6.5mmol/L, muscle weakness or paralysis, abnormal cardiac conduction and arrhythmia will occur, accompanied by fatigue, diarrhea, muscle aches and other discomforts.Severe patients may even die.

Doctor's reminder

"Edamame, bananas, grapes, oranges, kiwis, mushrooms, and fungi are all high-potassium foods. In fact, kelp, seaweed, spinach, and nuts such as peanuts contain even higher potassium. People often overlook this, thinking that a little seaweed and a little kelp should be harmless, but they cannot withstand such unconscious potassium supplementation in their diet over time." said the doctor.

In this regard, the doctor reminded,Controlling potassium is one of the things that must be done to reduce the risk of death in patients with kidney disease.In daily diet, you should pay attention to drinking less soup, especially seaweed soup and broth, and do not use soup and broth to mix rice; avoid consuming a lot of fruits, especially bayberry, banana, grape, orange, etc.; avoid drinking coffee, strong tea and sports drinks; eat less canned food, as the potassium content of canned food is much higher than that of fresh food.

"Hyperkalemia is an emergency. Once it occurs, most patients need to seek medical treatment immediately. If you feel unwell, you should seek medical treatment right away and do not delay, so as not to delay the condition." said the doctor.