Calcium Deficient? What You Should Know About Hypocalcemia

Defined as naturally occurring inorganic crystalline solids, minerals sound more like rocks or gems than vital substances for the body. Many of them form through geological processes and can be either compounds or pure elements. Minerals can be found in rocks or gems, but they can also be solid structures on their own, so they’re not all the same.

Many minerals are essential for long-term health, including calcium, the most abundant mineral in the body. Dealing with problems concerning calcium deficiency, or hypocalcemia, can create health issues if left untreated. Let’s find out more about hypocalcemia, its possible complications, and how to manage it.

Dr. Ghayas Habach and the dedicated medical team at Merit Health Care are here to help the residents of Sylacauga and Talladega, Alabama, with a variety of kidney-related issues, including calcium imbalances such as hypocalcemia.

What are the basics of hypocalcemia?

Calcium plays a vital role in bone health, heart and muscle function, and directly affects your height as you grow into adulthood. Many issues, including genetic factors, hormonal changes, renal failure, dietary intolerance to foods with calcium, medications that affect calcium absorption, and malnutrition, lead to hypocalcemia.

The risks of hypocalcemia also increase with bodily changes that happen during menopause and conditions like hypoparathyroidism. This problem doesn’t start out with symptoms, but when they appear, you can experience muscle spasms, numbness or tingling in the face, feet, or hands, and brittle nails and bones that fracture easily.

What are some complications of hypocalcemia?

When calcium levels drop significantly, symptoms can worsen, leading to tingling in the lips, tongue, fingers, and feet; muscle aches; muscle spasms in the throat that affect breathing (laryngospasm); and tetany (when muscles stiffen and spasm). It can also cause heart arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and seizures.

Mental health can be affected with low calcium levels, leading to memory loss, depression, confusion, irritability, restlessness, and hallucinations.

What are the treatments for hypocalcemia?

How we manage your issues with hypocalcemia depends on the severity of the problem and its cause. Oral calcium supplements can help many mild cases, and magnesium may be necessary to support calcium absorption, as well as to reduce medications or treatments that affect how much of the mineral you have in your body.

Medical conditions that cause this illness require treatment of the underlying problem, and sudden, severe drops in blood calcium can be addressed intravenously. For hypoparathyroidism in particular, a PTH replacement hormone regimen can restore normal levels in many patients.

Hypocalcemia can throw your body out of balance and cause many issues, but it can be treated, and we’re here to help. Make an appointment with Dr. Habach and the Merit Health Care team today if you’re experiencing signs of hypocalcemia.