Hypoglycemia is a dangerous complication that can occur when diabetic patients are treated with insulin or sulfonylurea. This is a factor that interferes with glycemic control in patients with diabetes. Hypoglycemia if not detected in time and treated early can lead to coma and cause much harm to the patient. Let’s explore low blood sugar symptoms in this article!
Contents
What is hypoglycemia?
Hypoglycemia is a condition that occurs when blood sugar levels are too low, below 3.9 mmol/l (<70mg/dl), leading to a lack of glucose for the body to function, causing disorders for the body. Hypoglycemia should be treated quickly and promptly to limit serious complications caused by hypoglycemia.
Causes of low blood sugar
Hypoglycemia due to insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs
Hypoglycemia is a complication seen in diabetic patients treated with insulin. The absorption of insulin between injections in a patient is very different. Concomitant factors may increase peak plasma concentrations. Relative hyperinsulinemia is also seen due to decreased insulin resistance during infection or pregnancy, or due to increased insulin sensitivity (weight loss or excessive exercise). Changing the type of insulin on a patient without a doctor’s supervision.
Hypoglycemia due to oral medications is less common but can occur.
Especially seen in patients who are taking insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs but reduce the portion size or delay the meal time.
Exertion
Patients with type 1 diabetes often have hypoglycemia during exercise.
Alcohol
Alcohol increases the risk of hypoglycemia because alcohol inhibits gluconeogenesis. In addition, alcohol reduces or confuses the warning symptoms of hypoglycemia. People who drink alcohol often do not eat and often go to bed after that, so it is difficult to recognize hypoglycemia.
Favorable factors of hypoglycemia
Patients do not understand or are not adequately instructed: Patients with diabetes treatment do not follow instructions, and constantly change their diet. Insulin, physical activity, and blood sugar monitoring are common causes of hypoglycemia.
Attempts to maintain normal blood glucose levels: One risk factor for hypoglycemia is inappropriate and unrealistic efforts to maintain tight glycemic control or a normal HbA1c level. It can be seen in people trying to be on an excessively secretory diet while still taking insulin.
Having diabetes for a long time: Due to neurological and humoral disorders, it is a complication of long-term diabetes. Leads to the loss of warning signs of hypoglycemia in the patient. In addition, long-term diabetic patients also often have episodes of hypoglycemia, leading to a loss of perception of the signs of hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemia without warning symptoms: Patients with type 1 diabetes sometimes go into a coma, or convulsions without warning signs. The common scenario is that the symptoms and signs of hypoglycemia simply change over time and become unrecognizable.
Nocturnal hypoglycemia – a disease at dawn.
History of severe hypoglycemia: The patient has had recurrent episodes of severe hypoglycemia resulting in decreased hormonal response to hypoglycemia. Increased episodes of undetectable hypoglycemia.
Kidney failure and liver failure.
Low blood sugar symptoms
- The patient feels sudden, unexplained fatigue
- Feeling dizzy, headache, anxiety
- Feeling heavy and weak
- Pale skin
- Sweating usually occurs on the palms, forehead, and armpits
- Anxiety, palpitations, anxiety, panic, loss of composure
- There is increased salivation.
- The feeling of chills running down my spine
- Handshaking
- Fast heartbeat
- There may be chest heaviness, angina
- Feeling of hunger, burning sensation in the stomach. There may be stomach cramps and epigastric pain. There may be nausea and vomiting.
- Severe cases can cause generalized convulsions or focal epileptic seizures. Focal neurological signs: paralysis of 1⁄2 people, cranial nerve damage, sensory and motor disturbances. Blurry vision, double vision, dizziness.
- There may be agitation, personality disorder, gratuitous laughter, and hallucinations.
Treating hypoglycemia emergency at home
In situations of sudden hypoglycemia, the patient himself and his relatives need to quickly identify the hypoglycemia and treat it quickly by Immediately eating a sweet candy, a cake, or fruit available. If not, need at least 15g of sugar (3 pieces of sugar or 3 teaspoons of sugar mixed in 100 ml of water). Severe hypoglycemia also requires the same initial management and then the patient is taken to the hospital for advanced emergency management.
Treatment
With hypoglycemia situations in the hospital, it should be handled by:
Stop taking blood sugar-lowering drugs or insulin
In case of mild hypoglycemia, the patient is awake: Instruct the patient to immediately eat a candy or a piece of cake or fruit available. If not helping, the patient should drink a glass of soft drink, and sugar water.
In case of severe hypoglycemia: Glucose infusion in case of severe hypoglycemia, unconscious consciousness, the patient cannot eat or drink by mouth
Intravenous 20-50ml glucose 30%, can be repeated if the patient is not awake
Followed by glucose infusion of 5% (or Glucose 10%) to maintain blood glucose > 5.6 mmol/l
Glucagon 1mg (intramuscular or subcutaneous): indicated for patients with severe hypoglycemia, inability to eat by mouth, or patients who cannot place an intravenous line immediately in the emergency
Patient awake: Give drink or extra meal, check blood sugar every 4 hours to avoid too high blood sugar
Prolonged coma due to late emergency or complications such as cerebral edema, cerebrovascular accident
Maintain blood sugar by 10% glucose
Anti cerebral edema
Final thought
People with diabetes and their loved ones need to be educated on the detection and treatment of hypoglycemia at home.
When thinking of hypoglycemia, the patient must immediately do the following:
Eat a meal right away, drink juice or sugar water
Tell your doctor or nurse immediately
Check and take some sugar with you when you go out
Announce your diabetes to friends, colleagues, relatives
You must check your blood sugar if you feel unappetizing, eat less than usual, or exercise too much
Limit alcohol intake, especially drinking alcohol without eating or eating less
For women note the days of the menstrual cycle
Top News hopes this article can help you learn more about low blood sugar symptoms and wishes your health is always in the best condition.