Question

What are the symptoms of too much ammonia in the body?

Answer 1

Drugs and other substances that may increase ammonia levels include acetazolamide, ammonium chloride and ethanol, etc. High ammonia levels in the blood are most often caused by liver diseases and others include kidney failure and genetic disorders.

Complete answer:
Ammonia is a nitrogenous waste compound that is normally excreted by the urine. Increase in blood ammonia level is an excessive accumulation of ammonia in the blood. An increase in blood ammonia level occurs when the kidney or liver is not working properly allowing wastes to accumulate in the bloodstream.
It is poisonous to our cells and an increment in it can affect our entire body. Increased blood ammonia can affect a person of any age group and happens for a variety of reasons. It is common in infants who are affected with genetic disorders.
In addition to increased blood ammonia levels, other symptoms are muscle weakness, fatigue, kidney damage and failure. If it remains untreated, it may damage brain tissue leading to symptoms such as confusion, loss of appetite, nausea, pain in the back.
It may be caused by a variety of reasons including kidney damage or hereditary conditions.
In infants, children and adolescents, increase in blood ammonia level caused by hereditary and other disorders:
Congenital disorder of ammonia metabolism, hemolytic disease of the newborn, liver or kidney damage, Reye's syndrome (caused by brain and liver swelling).

Note:
In adults, increased blood ammonia level is related to alcohol abuse, certain medicines such as diuretics and narcotics, kidney stones, cirrhosis (liver diseases), hepatitis. It can be reduced by maintaining our blood pressure level at normal, eating a low protein diet if we have liver diseases.