My topic today is about a condition called hypoglycemia which means abnormal low blood sugar below the normal level which is 70 mg or 3.9 mmol. It is most common in patients with type 1 diabetes who need to take only insulin for treatment. It is less common in type 2 diabetes especially if they are taking insulin or certain diabetes pills.
The causes of hypoglycemia are either by taking too much insulin or some diabetes pills especially by delaying meals or not eating enough food. it can also happen after heavy exercise or alcohol drinking.
What are the symptoms? For mild cases they might feel hungry, shaky, anxious & sweating. But for severe cases especially if the sugar level drops below 50mg or 3mmol they will feel very weak and tired with blurry vision, palpitation and confusion, eventually they might faint or have a seizure.
The treatment for the mild cases is by drinking orange juice or eating something sweet like candy or glucose pills. But for the severe cases, especially if they cannot eat or drink, an emergency injection of glucagon should be given. This is a hormone from the pancreas that raises blood glucose. It should be kept with the patient’s family in case of an emergency. Another option is by giving intravenous fluids with sugar in the hospital
Another related condition is called reactive hypoglycemia or sugar crash. It is recurrent episodes of low blood sugar in people without diabetes after eating a meal which is high in sugar or carbs. The mechanism here is that after eating a sweet meal, the pancreas responds by producing more insulin than it is needed. Initially there is a rapid increase in the blood sugar after eating then few hours later there will be rapid decrease in the sugar due to the presence of too much insulin. The treatment for reactive hypoglycemia is to prevent it by eating 4 to 5 meals a day which are high in protein and low in sugar and carbohydrates.
Hypoglycemia is unpleasant experience and can be very frightening. It is really very important to prevent hypoglycemia in diabetics by monitoring blood sugar frequently & by educating the families about its symptoms and how to manage it. Diabetics patients who are at risk should always carry with them some glucose pills to use it, as needed. Finally, if you experience these episodes, please inform your doctor
about it in order to adjust your medications.
Video shot by Galia Helbaoui and edited by Amer Helbaoui
30 ноя 2022
