Ammonia

• Ammonia levels do not always reflect the severity of a person's symptoms. For example, a person with severe cirrhosis may have only slightly elevated blood ammonia levels and yet may not be thinking clearly or may be sleepy or in a coma. Other people with very high ammonia levels may think and act normally.
• Symptoms of a high ammonia level, such as confusion or extreme sleepiness, may be treated with a medicine called lactulose, a laxative that works by reducing ammonia production in the Reference intestines Opens New Window.
• It is common for newborns to have slightly high levels of ammonia in their blood. But the levels are temporary and usually do not cause symptoms.

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