----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, March 05, 2001 10:57
PM
Subject: RC: Potassium
I think people are talking about 3 different things
here..
1) Renal failure and one of it's consequenses
2) dietary potassium levels
3) The potassium in E lytes which replaces the
potassium
lost from sweating (the form of which may
be a salt)
Susan is stating the medical fact that an animal with renal
failure
(kidney failure, due to what ever
reason) will have decreased elimination of potassium
and increased serum levels.
Failure to eliminate potassium is a symptom of kidney
failure
in horses and humans.
There is more than 1 form of potassium, just as there is
more than
1 form of many of the other
elements.
Art is making the point, that in and of itself,
the
oral administration of potassium in
Elytes
cannot CAUSE kidney failure in a healthy
animal.
He's also saying that a horse can tolerate a high
*dietary* potassium level.
(I think it's around 3% but would have to look it
up).
Absorption is thru the intestine, and elimination is thru
the kidney's in a healthy
horse (or human)
You'd have to over administrate potassium by IV to overdose
them (and it could be
done, but I don't know the lethal dose
off-hand)
Kat's question is about potassium chloride (the salt form )
being in balance with sodium chloride:
Sodium, Chloride, and potassium do have a relationship
(ratio) and also have a relationship
with minerals.
And while a horse USUALLY eats way more potassium in their
forage than its body needs,
dehydration (from sweating and hard work) is the first step
in disrupting the
sodium/potassium /chloride balance . Repeated bouts of
sustained
exercise, without adequate time for the body to "catch-up"
thru diet, can cause
a baseline deficiet, which will upset the proper ratios.
This is over-simplified..but without getting into the role
potassium plays in it's shared role
of fluid balances in the body and of the absorption of other
elements....
which would be a long post..
this might clarify a little.
Barb