Very low blood sugar levels—hypoglycemia—are medical emergencies for which immediate help of the Best General Physician in Lahore is needed. Without treatment, hypoglycemia can result in loss of consciousness, seizures and even death.
Read on to know more about hypoglycemia and its emergency management:
Table of Contents
What is hypoglycemia?
Blood sugar levels (BSL) of 70 mg/dL or lower constitute hypoglycemia. Patients with type I and II diabetes have to be particularly careful about hypoglycemia and learn to recognize its early symptoms. In fact, such patients should always have glucagon emergency kits handy, and should teach their family members on how to use it in case of emergency.
What are the symptoms of hypoglycemia?
The symptoms of hypoglycemia can occur in both type I and type II diabetics, but it is more common in type I diabetics who are taking insulin. The symptoms of early hypoglycemia, include:
- Pallor
- Headache
- Sweating
- Shaking
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Irregularly fast heartbeat
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
- Hunger
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Difficulty in concentrating
- Tingling of tongue and cheeks
Severe hypoglycemia presents with:
- Loss of coordination
- Confusion in completing everyday tasks
- Nightmares
- Slurred speech
- Tunnel vision
- Loss of consciousness
- Seizures
- Coma
Postprandial hypoglycemia
In some cases, hypoglycemia can also occur after eating. The exact cause is unknown but often occurs in people with stomach bypass and other surgeries.
What are the risk factors of hypoglycemia?
The risks that predispose one to hypoglycemia include:
- Alcohol use
- Poor glycemic control
- Exercising more
- Skipping meals
- Error in insulin administration
- Impaired kidney function and dialysis patients
- Intake of poor-quality food
- Insulinomas
- Critical illnesses such as underlying liver and kidney disease
- Hormone deficiencies
- Long-term starvation
- Accidental ingestion of medication
- Fasting
- Sepsis
- Malabsorption of food
- Drug interaction between SSRIs and drugs for diabetes
What is the emergency treatment?
The steps of emergency management include:
- Administering glucagon if available: the glucagon emergency kit contains powdered glucagon and a syringe with liquid. These must be mixed and then injected in the muscle (arm or buttock) of the hypoglycemic patient. This is particularly helpful if the patient is unconscious.
The kit may contain powder form of glucagon as well. This form needs no mixing and can be sprayed in the nostrils of the hypoglycemic patient.
- Turn the patient on the side: if the patient is unconscious, turning the patient onto the left side is helpful in clearing the airway.
- Call for help: if someone has lost consciousness due to a hypoglycemic attack, call an ambulance immediately.
- Give them fast-acting carbohydrates: if the patient is conscious and able to swallow, give them about 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates like glucose tablets, fruit juice or soda. A tablespoon of sugar dissolved in water, or a tablespoon of honey is equally helpful.
- Measure the blood glucose: after the previous step, measure the blood glucose again after 15 minutes. If the BSL is still low, give another dose of fast-acting carbs. Keep checking the BSL, until it rises above 70 mg/dL.
- Encourage the patient to have a light snack: once the BSL has normalized, encourage the patient to have a light snack of proteins and carbohydrates to stabilize the blood sugar levels.
Visiting the healthcare provider
After the immediate management of hypoglycemia, a follow-up visit to the healthcare provider is encouraged to identify what is causing hypoglycemia, especially if the episodes are recurrent. The visit to the healthcare provider should focus on:
- Nutritional counselling: eating small meals frequently throughout the day, instead of large meals, and the addition of proteins and whole grains in the diet helps to keep the BSL steady and prevents hypoglycemic dips.
- Management of underlying cause: without management of underlying conditions—such as insulin-secreting tumours—these dips of hypoglycemia can become recurrent. Thus, the healthcare provider needs to evaluate the patient to treat these conditions.
- Adjustment of medication: General Physician in Karachi may need to adjust the medication if excessive insulin or oral medication is causing the hypoglycemic episodes.
