Convulsions, difficulty breathing, be careful of mistaking the disease for the wrong medicine

hạ canxi - Ảnh 1. — Finger cramps are also one of the manifestations of hypocalcemia - Illustration photo

Sudden convulsions, difficulty breathing

Symptoms of convulsions, difficulty breathing or cramps... make many people mistake them for other diseases, leading to delayed treatment.

According to Dr. Le Quang Hao - National Institute of Nutrition, hypocalcemia is determined when total plasma calcium concentration is lower than 2.15 mmol/L or ionized calcium concentration, the biologically active form of calcium, is lower than 0.9 mmol/L.

It is the ionized calcium that has the real effect on the body, regulated by hormones.

Symptoms of hypocalcemia are often the result of increased neuromuscular stimulation. Patients may experience cramps, muscle stiffness, and paresthesia around the lips, fingers, and toes.

When the condition is severe, tetany - the most typical sign, can appear with symptoms of stiff legs, body aches, facial muscle spasms or even whole body convulsions, laryngospasm causing difficulty breathing.

Hypocalcemia can also cause cardiac arrhythmias, recognized on the electrocardiogram by QT and ST prolongation, which in severe cases can lead to ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest.

Not only causing acute danger, chronic hypocalcemia also leaves many persistent consequences. Patients have dry skin, brittle hair, brittle nails, are susceptible to skin fungus, and over time can develop irreversible cataracts.

During puberty, calcium deficiency also leads to slow development, menstrual disorders, many young people experience cramps or menstrual cramps due to calcium deficiency.

Diagnosis of hypocalcemia is made through blood tests. When total serum calcium is lower than 2.15 mmol/L, especially at 1.75 mmol/L or lower, the doctor will identify this condition.

Accompanying indices such as phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, vitamin D are also considered to differentiate the cause, including vitamin D deficiency, hypoparathyroidism, chronic bone diseases such as osteoporosis, rickets.

How to treat hypocalcemia?

Dr. Hao said that treatment of hypocalcemia should be based on the severity and cause. In acute cases, where calcium levels drop sharply, causing seizures, tetany, or heart rhythm disturbances, the patient must be given intravenous calcium immediately.

After the emergency phase, the patient continued to be maintained with oral medication combined with vitamin D to increase absorption capacity.

For chronic hypocalcemia, the mainstay of therapy is oral calcium, in doses ranging from 1,000 mg to 2,600 mg daily in divided doses, combined with vitamin D—usually calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D—to optimize efficacy.

Choosing the right type of calcium is also important, avoiding the phosphate form as it can increase blood phosphate and cause adverse calcium deposits.

To prevent hypocalcemia, doctors recommend that everyone maintain a calcium-rich diet with milk and dairy products, small fish with bones, shrimp, crabs and dark green vegetables. Reasonable sunbathing helps the body synthesize vitamin D, supporting better calcium absorption.

Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people who have had thyroid surgery or have chronic kidney disease should consult their doctor about appropriate calcium and vitamin D supplements.

Hypocalcemia is a condition that should not be ignored. It can start with transient cramps, but can also progress to life-threatening seizures and cardiac arrest.

Therefore, when suspicious signs appear, patients need to go to the doctor early for timely testing and treatment, absolutely do not arbitrarily supplement high doses of calcium. Only when the cause is found and treated properly, can hypocalcemia be effectively controlled.

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LINH HAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-giat-kho-tho-can-trong-nham-benh-nham-thuoc-20250823095847156.htm