Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia also known as low blood glucose, happens when the body and brain are getting insufficient glucose. Blood glucose levels < 70 mg/dl is called hypoglycemia.
Causes of hypoglycemia:
- Delayed/missed meals
- Very little carbohydrate in meals
- Excessive exercise
- Too high or wrong dose of glucose lowering medicines
- Excess alcohol consumption
Clinical features of hypoglycemia:
Sweating, shaking, fast heartbeat, hunger, visual disturbances, headache, inattention, lasck of co-ordination, confusion. Severe symptoms include seizures and loss of consciousness.
Prevention:
- Patients with diabetes should frequently monitor their sugars.
- They should be aware and alert of the symptoms.
- In addition, they should always keep some sugar handy.
Managing hypoglycemia:
- Check blood glucose levels
- If low, take around 15g of glucose/sugar
- Recheck after 10 minutes
- If still low, repeat the dose of glucose
What is hypoglycemia unawareness?
Hypoglycemic unawareness is a condition where though patients’ sugars are low, there are no symptoms of hypoglycemia. In such a situation, the only way of detecting hypoglycemia is by frequent glucose monitoring.
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