Can mannitol help you lose weight?

Mannitol cannot help you lose weight. Although it can treat constipation, adverse reactions may occur when using mannitol. The most common one is water and electrolyte disorders. Therefore, this drug is used to treat other diseases. It does not have the effect of losing weight. If you use mannitol to lose weight, it will cause great harm to your health. If you want to lose weight well, the best way is exercise and diet.

Adverse Reactions

1. Water and electrolyte disorders are the most common. (1) Rapid intravenous injection of large amounts of mannitol can cause accumulation of mannitol in the body, resulting in a rapid and large increase in blood volume (especially in acute or chronic renal failure), leading to heart failure (especially in the presence of cardiac impairment), dilutional hyponatremia, and occasionally hyperkalemia; (2) Inappropriate excessive diuresis leads to a decrease in blood volume and aggravates oliguria; (3) The transfer of large amounts of intracellular fluid to the extracellular space can cause tissue dehydration and may cause central nervous system symptoms.

2. Chills and fever. 3. Difficulty urinating. 4. Thrombophlebitis. 5. Mannitol extravasation can cause tissue edema and skin necrosis. 6. Allergies cause rash, urticaria, difficulty breathing, and anaphylactic shock. 7. Dizziness and blurred vision. 8. Hypertonicity causes thirst. 9. Osmotic nephropathy (also known as mannitol nephropathy) is mainly seen during large-dose rapid intravenous infusion. Its mechanism has not been fully elucidated, but it may be related to mannitol causing excessive increase in renal tubular fluid osmotic pressure, leading to damage to renal tubular epithelial cells. The pathological manifestations are swelling of renal tubular epithelial cells and vacuolation. Clinically, there is decreased urine volume and even acute renal failure. Osmotic nephropathy is common in elderly patients with reduced renal blood flow, hyponatremia, and dehydration.

Taboo

1. Anuric patients diagnosed with acute tubular necrosis, including those who do not respond to mannitol trials, because mannitol accumulation causes increased blood volume and increases the burden on the heart; 2. Patients with severe water loss; 3. Patients with active intracranial bleeding, because volume expansion aggravates bleeding, except during intracranial surgery; 4. Acute pulmonary edema, or severe pulmonary congestion.

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