Long-term forecasts

Hypoglycemia is usually easy to treat and a mild episode a week is not dangerous.

The danger arises when glucose concentrations fall below acceptable limits to dangerous levels. The only energy source is glucose in the brain and therefore is not healthy blood sugar levels drop too low.

Treatment of hypoglycemia

Mild hypoglycemia is taking about 10 or 20 grams of glucose (sugar) as, for example, a glass of juice or milk sugar, or glucose tablets. In case of continued hypoglycemia or severe hypoglycemia crisis, call an ambulance to take the patient to the emergency room, where he was given intravenous glucose or glucagon (a hormone that increases glucose) intramuscularly.

The patient’s family should learn to give injections of glucagon. You can have a glucagon kit, so that if the patient has several hypoglycemia with loss of consciousness can be applied to the treatment immediately and avoid having to go to hospital.

In case of repeated bouts of hypoglycemia is necessary to measure blood glucose four times a day. Knowing when you are lowering blood glucose allows the patient to adjust their insulin dose and know when to eat.

It is important to know the symptoms of hypoglycemia in time to address them. When in doubt should measure blood glucose (concentration of glucose in the blood).

Also important:

- Always wear easy to consume sugar by hand.

- Measure blood glucose every day, because with this you can adjust the amount of insulin and decrease as much as possible the risk of hypoglycemia.

- Follow the dietary advice and maintain regular eating habits.

- Take a light snack between meals helps to keep glucose levels drop too low before the next meal. Carry an identification card diabetic patient. The blood sugar drops at night are a serious problem for many diabetics because during sleep are not identified. If you have bad dreams at night, wakes up with headache or is especially cranky when you wake up, you should measure your blood sugar to three in the morning. Either way you can reduce the risk of nocturnal hypoglycaemia blood glucose measured at about 10 or 11 at night. If you are below 126-144 mg / dl (7-8 mmol / l) should eat something light.

- Alcohol also lowers blood glucose. It is very important to avoid drunkenness. After drinking heavily or having been dancing, you should eat something before bed.

How is it diagnosed?

Diagnosis is made by measuring the concentration of glucose in the blood with a blood glucose measuring device. A glucose less than 54 mg / dl (3.0 mmol / l) indicates hypoglycemia.

Exercise and diet

Exercise uses glucose and reduces blood sugar, so if you exercise or do strenuous physical activity:

- Please less insulin than normal before sports or any unusual physical activity.

- Eat more before, during or just after exercise. In patients treated with insulin normally, blood glucose is higher than one or two hours after eating and lower three to four hours after meals. Some people have symptoms of hypoglycemia just before meals. This highlights the need to drink between meals to avoid hypoglycemia.

Hypoglycemia can cause the following symptoms:

- Paleness

- Tremors

- Sweating

- Feeling of weakness

- Palpitations

- Hunger

- Nervousness

- Difficulty concentrating

- Irritability

- Tiredness or fatigue

- Blurred vision

- Changes in the pattern of foreign

- Temporary loss of consciousness

- Confusion

- Seizures

- Eat.

In some diabetic hypoglycemia does not cause any of these symptoms, especially if the patient is diabetic for many years. In these patients, hypoglycemia can cause seizures and loss of consciousness without notice. To avoid this, these patients should maintain a blood glucose concentration higher than other patients with diabetes and measure blood glucose more frequently than normal. This is very important.

Types of hypoglycemia

Hypoglycaemia can be classified into:

- Hypoglycemia mild hypoglycemic crisis: the patient can control the hypoglycemia itself.

- Severe hypoglycemia: the patient needs help from someone (a relative or a doctor).

Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is a condition in which the concentration of glucose (sugar) in the blood is below a certain limit, 54 mg/dl (about 3.0 mmol/l). This causes various symptoms, which usually disappear within 10 to 15 minutes to take a little sugar.

What is the cause of hypoglycemia?

Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas and serves to make certain body cells, especially the liver, can use glucose from the blood. Normally, the concentration of glucose increases after eating to 126-180 mg/dl (7 to 10 mmol/l) and then the pancreas secretes insulin. The glucose concentration begins to decrease again after one or two hours after lunch, and return to normal before the next meal, between 72-90 mg/dL (4 and 5 mmol/l). At that time, the concentration of insulin in the blood returns to normal.

In diabetics, hypoglycemia (also called “low blood sugar”) may be due to:

- Too much insulin in the blood: the dose of insulin or diabetes pills is too high. The patient has accidentally exceeded the dose of insulin or pills taken over.

- Less insulin is needed: the patient has eaten less than usual, have not exercised, or have drunk alcohol.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), more than 23 million Americans have diabetes and nearly a quarter of them are unaware they have the disease. Many believe that diabetes affects only older people, but in 2007 was diagnosed in 1.6 million new cases of diabetes in people over 20 years. Diabetes is a major cardiovascular risk factors. Moreover, two thirds of diabetics die of some form of heart disease or blood vessel.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the body can not produce or respond properly to the hormone insulin. The body needs insulin to convert glucose ( “blood sugar) into energy. Diabetes does not allow the body properly use the energy of food consumed. Where there is no such energy transfer, the cells are damaged. As the cells can not absorb glucose, increases the amount of glucose in the blood. When blood contains too much glucose, it is said that there are “hyperglycemia” (ie, a high blood sugar) or diabetes.