How about a horrified experience of fainting in an unknown road with strangers around you? And how about an experience in which your companion loses his consciousness and fall down right in front of you? This is a symptom common in people who have hypoglycemia. The condition is denoted by low blood glucose levels. As you can now see that high blood glucose levels are not the ultimate evils, the demon resides in low blood sugar levels as well.
The Causes
Hypoglycemia occurs due to excess of insulin in the blood, which in turn, lowers the blood sugar or glucose to below normal levels. This reasons can be:
- Too much medication causing higher than needed insulin levels.
- The prolonged action of certain medications.
- Not eating enough food to match the insulin level in the bloodstream.
- Skipping or delaying meals.
- Unplanned or excessive exercise, leading to lower blood glucose.
- Alcohol consumption.
- Associated liver disease.
Signs and Symptoms
People with diabetes may feel different symptoms as their blood glucose levels fall below the normal value. Some people, particularly those who have had diabetes for a long time or those who have had frequent low blood glucose episodes may not feel any of the early symptoms and may not recognize that their blood glucose is dangerously low.
Hypoglycemia can be categorized as mild, moderate and severe on the basis of the symptoms:
- Mild Hypoglycemia: In the early stages of hypoglycemia, some people may not feel these symptoms at all. Some of the symptoms include sudden hunger, headache, shaking, fast or pounding heartbeat, sweating, feeling of tiredness, dizziness, blurred vision, nervousness, excitement, drowsiness, numbness or tingling around mouth or lips.
- Moderate Hypoglycemia: If the above reaction is not treated, the brain begins to lack glucose and the symptoms may progress to personality change, irritability, poor coordination, difficulty concentrating, slurred or slow speech.
- Severe Hypoglycemia: If the reactions are not treated and the blood glucose level continues to fall, an individual may go into coma or develop seizures.
The Treatment
The treatment of hypoglycemia should be prompt. People should be encouraged to inform their healthcare team, doctor and nurses about all the episodes of hypoglycemia. The "Rule 15" is a helpful way to remember the treatment regimen. For example:
- Take 15 grams of glucose powder.
- Wait for 15 minutes.
- If the condition does not improve or if the blood glucose level is not above 60mg/dl, take another 15 grams of quickly absorbed carbohydrate.
- As this quickly absorbed carbohydrate is not enough, take something substantial after sometime.
- If the next meal time is more than one hour away, you should take some food rich in carbohydrate and protein such as sandwiches with sprouts, a fruit with milk or a small chapati with dal or fistful of murmura and roasted channa. This will ensure that the blood glucose level does not drop again before the next meal.
- Carry sugar cubes, glucose tablets and glucose biscuits while traveling.
- In severe cases, you may need to be taken to an emergency facility immediately.
Prevention
Being prepared for hypoglycemia is a sure shot way to prevent the complications. Awareness and education are the two weapons to avoid the consequences. Self monitoring of blood glucose or by the family members or medical caretakers should be encouraged to facilitate a better treatment of hypoglycemia. It is very important that a person who is at a risk of having low blood glucose reactions informs his friends, family and co-workers about the same. In that case, his companions can readily observe the symptoms and can come out with prompt treatments.
Few Tips
People suffering from diabetes should maintain a note on the following:
- The last time the blood sugar level fell.
- The symptoms.
- The tests undergone.
- Any event prior to the incident.
- Medications taken.
- Any steps taken to correct it.
By doing this, they will be able to discover the reasons for the occurrence of hypoglycemic episodes.
If you have experienced hypoglycemic events in the past, then you should maintain precaution in every single step. It's not just for your safety, but for the ultimate well-being of your family members. Would you really love to see your family members rushing here and there and to the emergency department without being able to take a breath properly?
