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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