Can albumin cure all diseases and improve immunity? Pharmacist reminds: Don't use it wrongly

Huazi just rejected a friend's request because he asked Huazi if he could help buy a few bottles of albumin to improve his immunity. Because his health is not good, he wants to improve his immunity by injecting albumin.

Hua Zi said that the full name of albumin is "human albumin". Everyone is familiar with this drug. No matter what disease it is, albumin may be used in the most serious stage, so many people think that albumin can cure all diseases and improve immunity. But the reality is not so.

1. What is albumin

The human body's blood flows in the blood vessels. If you want the blood to stay in the blood vessels and not flow out of the blood vessels, you need to maintain a higher osmotic pressure in the blood vessels.

There are two types of human plasma osmotic pressure: one is crystal osmotic pressure, which is mainly provided by small molecules such as sodium ions, glucose, and urea, and the other is colloid osmotic pressure, which is mainly provided by plasma proteins.

Albumin is the main protein in plasma, containing about 35-50 grams per liter of blood, accounting for 50% of the total plasma protein. It is synthesized by the human liver and degraded in the muscles, intestines, liver, and kidneys.

2. What is the role of albumin

The main function of albumin is to maintain the colloidal osmotic pressure of the blood, regulate the dynamic balance of water between tissues and blood vessels, and prevent water from penetrating from blood vessels into surrounding tissues. In other words, the function of albumin is to "absorb" water and prevent it from escaping from blood vessels.

Therefore, the clinical application of albumin can be used for shock caused by blood loss, trauma, burns, etc. due to large amounts of body fluid exudation; because albumin will not pass through the blood-brain barrier, it can be used to treat cerebral edema and "absorb" water from the brain tissue; it can also be used for acute respiratory distress syndrome and to regulate fluid balance during extracorporeal circulation.

Liver failure can reduce albumin production, which requires supplementation. In addition, it can also be used to prevent and treat hypoproteinemia, peritoneal effusion, renal dialysis, and neonatal jaundice. It has a certain detoxification effect and can also be used for mercury poisoning.

3. Avoid the abuse of albumin 1. It cannot improve immunity: Globulin, not albumin, is related to human immunity. The role of albumin is only to "absorb water", and it cannot increase human immunity, nor does it have the effect of strengthening the body and delaying aging.

2. Not a nutritional supplement: People who cannot eat normally need nutritional supplements, but albumin is not suitable as a nutritional supplement. This is because the human body can only use amino acids, fats, and sugars, and the process of albumin degradation into amino acids is extremely slow. For people who need nutritional supplements, it is more appropriate to use drugs such as complex amino acids, fat emulsions, and glucose.

3. If there is no albumin deficiency, no supplementation is needed: The serum albumin level needs to be measured before taking the medicine. The normal concentration range of albumin is 35~50g/L. If it is not significantly lower than this value, albumin infusion is not recommended.

4. Adverse reactions may occur: Albumin may cause allergies when used, and anaphylactic shock may be life-threatening. If the infusion speed is too fast, or if the drug is used without indication, or if there is renal insufficiency, symptoms such as hypertension and edema may be aggravated.

To sum up, the main function of albumin is to maintain the colloidal osmotic pressure in blood vessels and regulate the water balance between blood and tissues. It cannot enhance immunity or supplement human nutrition.

The reason why patients with different diseases use albumin is that in the terminal stages of these diseases, liver failure may occur, resulting in reduced albumin production and lower plasma colloidal osmotic pressure, which requires albumin infusion for correction, not that albumin can "cure all diseases." If you have any questions about medication, please consult a doctor or pharmacist. I am pharmacist Huazi. Welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.