What Happens If Your Blood Sugar Gets Too Low

By Sam D

December 10, 2021

0

6

How Do I Treat An Episode Of Hypoglycemia

What is Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)?

The American Diabetes Association recommends the 15-15 rule for an episode of hypoglycemia:

Eat or drink 15 grams of carbs to raise your blood sugar.
After 15 minutes, check your blood sugar.
If its still below 70 mg/dL, have another 15 grams of carbs.
Repeat until your blood sugar is at least 70 mg/dL.

If you have symptoms of hypoglycemia but cant test your blood sugar, use the 15-15 rule until you feel better.

Note: Children need fewer grams of carbs. Check with your healthcare provider.

How To Treat Someone Who’s Having A Seizure Or Fit

Follow these steps if someone has a seizure or fit caused by a low blood sugar level:

Stay with them and stop them hurting themselves lie them down on something soft and move them away from anything dangerous .

After the seizure or fit stops, give them a sugary snack.

Tell your diabetes care team if you ever have a severe hypo that caused you to have a seizure or fit.

Do Not Drive When You Have Low Blood Sugar

It’s very dangerous. If you’re driving and you have hypoglycemia symptoms, pull off the road, check your blood sugar, and eat a sugary food. Wait at least 15 minutes, check your blood sugar, and repeat these steps if necessary. Eat a protein and carbohydrate source before you drive on.

Be prepared. Keep a sugar source in your car at all times for emergencies.

Recommended Reading: Does Metformin Make You Sweat

Listen To Your Doctor

If you follow a meal plan or take medications that increase insulin to manage low blood sugar, its important to stick to the plan your doctor prescribed to help prevent drops in your blood sugar level.

Not eating the right foods or taking the right medications at the right times can cause your blood sugar to drop. Check in often with your doctor so they can adjust your treatment plan if and when necessary.

What If The 15

If you dont feel better after three tries, or if your symptoms get worse, call your healthcare provider or 911. Healthcare providers can use a medication called glucagon. They inject it with a needle or squirt it up your nose. Glucagon is also available for home use. Your healthcare provider can prescribe it and teach a family member or friend how to use it in the event of severe hypoglycemia.

Recommended Reading: What To Do If Blood Sugar Is Over 400

What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Low Blood Sugar

Different people may feel low blood sugar levels differently. People with low blood sugar may:

feel hungry or have “hunger pains” in their stomach
feel shaky or like they’re trembling
have a rapid heart rate
feel sweaty or have cold, clammy skin
have pale, gray skin color
have a headache
have seizures or convulsions
lose consciousness

If you have diabetes, try to remember how your body reacts when your blood sugar levels are low. It may help you figure out when you’re having a low blood sugar level more quickly the next time.

Normal Blood Sugar Levels

The Joslin Diabetes Center provides the following blood glucose ranges for people with diabetes. Before breakfast, the blood glucose range for diabetics is 70 to 130 milligrams per deciliter. But your doctor will determine the best individual blood-glucose ranges for you based on your overall health condition. Severe hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar drops below 35 to 40 milligrams per deciliter. Without medical treatment, severe hypoglycemia can be fatal.

References

Also Check: How Many Points Does Metformin Lower Blood Sugar

High Blood Glucose: Hyperglycemia

Hyperglycemia means that you have too much blood glucose. It happens when your blood glucose level is around 200 mg/dL or higher. Hyperglycemia can happen if you miss taking your diabetes medications, eat too much or do not get enough exercise. Sometimes, the medications you take for other problems cause high blood glucose.

Symptoms of hyperglycemia include:

Having blurry vision
Having to urinate often

If you have these symptoms, check your blood glucose right away. If its too high, follow these steps:

Check your blood glucose every four hours. If your level does not go down after two checks or your symptoms get worse, call a member of your diabetes team.
Drink water or other sugar-free liquids, such as diet soda or Crystal Light.
You may need to take an extra dose of insulin. Your diabetes educator talks with you more about this.

What Is Low Blood Glucose

Putting Off Treating Low Blood Sugars

Low blood glucose, also called low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, occurs when the level of glucose in your blood drops below what is healthy for you. For many people with diabetes, this means a blood glucose reading lower than 70 milligrams per deciliter .1 Your number might be different, so check with your doctor or health care team to find out what blood glucose level is low for you.

Recommended Reading: Normal Metformin Dose

If A Person Is Unconscious

If a person loses consciousness because of severe hypoglycaemia, they need to be put into the recovery position and given an injection of the hormone glucagon . The injection will raise their blood glucose level.

The injection should be carried out by a friend or family member who knows what they’re doing, or by a trained healthcare professional.

You should dial 999 to request an ambulance if:

a glucagon injection kit isn’t available
there’s nobody available who’s trained to give the injection
the injection is ineffective after 10 minutes

Never try to put food or drink into the mouth of someone who’s unconscious as they could choke.

If you’re able to give a glucagon injection and the person regains consciousness, they should eat some longer-acting carbohydrate food, such as a few biscuits, a cereal bar or a sandwich.

You should continue to monitor the person for signs of recurring symptoms in case they need to be treated again.

Low Blood Sugar: Warning Signs Ways To Treat And When To Call The Doctor

Physicians explain how to tell when your blood sugar is dangerously low, and how to take action to prevent complications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report, 34 million people living in the United States had diabetes in 2018 — and amazingly, 21% of adults with diabetes did not even know they had it. The scariest part is that, if left untreated, diabetes can be deadly. In fact, it was the seventh leading cause of death in the year 2017.

And while normally associated with high blood sugar , diabetic folks can also experience hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, alongside its own bevy of problems — including more severe and/or long-term effects like seizures, loss of consciousness, dementia and even death. Further, according to the Mayo Clinic, hypoglycemia can also cause low blood sugar in folks without diabetes due to a variety of conditions and medications.

So, needless to say, it’s important to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. But how is this done, especially if you don’t know the first thing about blood sugar?

Our Health & Wellness newsletter puts the best products, updates and advice in your inbox.

Also Check: Side Effect Of Metformin

The Causes Of Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar levels can happen to kids with diabetes because of the medicines they have to take. Kids with diabetes may need a hormone called insulin and/or diabetes pills to help their bodies use the sugar in their blood. These medicines help take the sugar out of the blood and get it into the bodys cells, which makes the level of sugar in the blood go down.

But sometimes its a tricky balancing act, and blood sugar levels can get too low. Kids with diabetes need to keep their blood sugar levels from getting too high or too low. How do they do it? With help from grown-ups, they keep three things in balance:

not timing the insulin doses properly with meals, snacks, and exercise
taking a long bath or shower right after an insulin shot

What If Im Experiencing Hypoglycemic Episodes Even Though My Doctor Has Confirmed That Im Not Diabetic Or Prediabetic

If you have low blood sugar and dont have diabetes or prediabetes, it can be a sign of another serious health issue such as a tumor, hormone deficiency, kidney disorder, anorexia, or other eating disorder, all of which can cause dangerously low blood sugar.

Anorexia has the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder, and the cause of death can be hypoglycemia, so take your illness seriously and seek help if you suspect your eating disorder may be progressing to the point where it is causing you to faint or experience other signs and symptoms of dangerously low blood sugar. The National Eating Disorders Association has resources on how to identify the signs that you may have an eating disorder, a hotline for help, as well as easily accessible information on everything from how to know when you need help to how to find quality treatment options in your zip code.

People who are not diabetic don’t spontaneously have hypoglycemia for no reason, explains Dr. Christofides. Its often an indication of another underlying issue, such as a hormone deficiency or eating disorder, so its important to schedule an appointment with your doctor to determine the cause in order to prevent complications.

Common causes of hypoglycemia in people without diabetes include:

Pancreatic tumor
Medication that inhibits the proper production of insulin
Hepatitis or kidney disorders
Hormone deficiencies
Anorexia and other eating disorders

Also Check: Insulin Receptors Type 2 Diabetes

Low Blood Sugar Levels In Diabetes

People with diabetes can have low blood sugar levels because of the medicines they have to take to manage their diabetes. They may need a hormone called or diabetes pills to help their bodies use the sugar in their blood.

These medicines help take the sugar out of the blood and get it into the body’s cells, which makes the blood sugar level go down. But sometimes it’s a tricky balancing act and blood sugar levels can get too low.

People with diabetes need to keep their blood sugars from getting too highor too low. Keeping blood sugar levels in a healthy range means balancing when and what they eat, and when they exercise with when they take medicines.

A Low Blood Sugar Level Without Diabetes

A low blood sugar level is uncommon in people who do not have diabetes.

Possible causes include:

a gastric bypass
other medical conditions, such as problems with your hormone levels, pancreas, liver, kidneys, adrenal glands or heart
some medicines, including quinine

See a GP if you think you keep getting symptoms of a low blood sugar level. They can arrange some simple tests to check if your blood sugar level is low and try to find out what’s causing it.

Don’t Miss: Which Of The Following Is Not Associated With Type 2 Diabetes

Your Diabetes Devices And Hypoglycemia

Several insulin pumps are now available that make managing blood sugar levels easier, particularly when connected to a glucose meter or a CGM.

Some of the most important advantages of CGM devices are the improved insulin control and the ability to detect trends and lows early. With improved technology, it is now possible for parents to track blood sugar trends in their kids even when they are hundreds of miles apart .

In addition, automated insulin delivery systems, also known an artificial pancreas or a hybrid closed-loop system, will automatically adjust insulin to match your bodys need to help you spend more time in your target range.

Resources that provide people with T1D and their families with more detailed information about pumps and CGM devices are available through JDRF here. For people looking for a deeper understanding of technology that helps people with T1D better manage their blood sugar, JDRF resources are available here.

Other Causes Of Low Blood Sugar

Hypoglycaemia – How to Treat and Prevent Low Blood Sugar

While low blood sugar is often associated with diabetes, it can also be affected by other factors. According to Dr. Danine Fruge, Medical Director of the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida, the causes of blood sugar problems can include not only “diabetes, prediabetes , reactive hypoglycemia or other health issues, but also by not eating enough, taking too much insulin or even taking certain diabetes medications.”

Other medications can also cause hypoglycemia, like quinine, or Qualaquin, which is used to treat malaria, or various medications for kidney failure. Exercising more than usual can also cause it, especially while taking such medications.

Some other potential causes for low blood sugar include:

Heavy drinking without eating
Eating without ingesting enough carbohydrates
Eating fewer carbs than usual without reducing insulin amounts, or improper balancing of liquid/solid carbs and timing of insulin
Hormone deficiencies due to adrenal or pituitary tumor disorders, or in children without sufficient growth hormone
Long-term starvation, such as that which can occur with anorexia nervosa
Serious illness like hepatitis, kidney disorders and liver disease
Pancreatic tumors that make the body secrete too much insulin

You May Like: Does Red Wine Lower Blood Sugar

How Can I Prevent Low Blood Sugar

Your best bet is to practice good diabetes management and learn to detect hypoglycemia so you can treat it earlybefore it gets worse.

Monitoring blood sugar, with either a meter or a CGM, is the tried and true method for preventing hypoglycemia. Studies consistently show that the more a person checks blood sugar, the lower his or her risk of hypoglycemia. This is because you can see when blood sugar levels are dropping and can treat it before it gets too low.

If you can, check often!

Check before and after meals.
Check before and after exercise .
Check before bed.
After intense exercise, also check in the middle of the night.
Check more if things around you change such as, a new insulin routine, a different work schedule, an increase in physical activity, or travel across time zones.

A Low Blood Sugar Level And Driving

You may still be allowed to drive if you have diabetes or you’re at risk of a low blood sugar level for another reason, but you’ll need to do things to reduce the chance of this happening while you’re driving.

You also need to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and your car insurance company about your condition.

For more information, see:

Also Check: Can Diabetics Eat Macaroni And Cheese

What High Blood Sugar Feels Like

The symptoms can include:

Breath that smells like fruit
Confusion

These are symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis . Your body burns glucose for energy. When your cells donât get enough of it, they burn fat. That produces chemicals called ketones. When these build up, your blood becomes more acid-like. This can be life-threatening if itâs not treated.

Preventing Low Blood Sugar Levels

Here are some other tips to help you avoid low blood sugar levels:

Eat all your meals and snacks on time and try not to skip any.
Take the right amount of insulin.
If you exercise longer or harder than usual, have an extra snack.
Don’t take a hot bath or shower right after an insulin shot.
Stick to your diabetes management plan.
Check your blood sugar levels regularly, so you can tell if your blood sugars are running too low and your treatment plan needs adjustment.
Carry something containing sugar with you at all times and take it right away if you have symptoms. Don’t wait to see if the symptoms will go away they may get worse!

Alcohol and drugs can cause major problems with your blood sugar levels, so avoiding them is another way to prevent diabetes problems. Drinking can be particularly dangerous even deadly for people with diabetes because it messes up the body’s ability to keep blood glucose in a normal range. This can cause a very rapid drop in blood glucose in people with diabetes. Drug or alcohol use is also dangerous because it may affect someone’s ability to sense low blood sugar levels.

Learning how to recognize the signs of low blood sugar levels and get them back to normal is an important part of caring for diabetes. Keeping track of your blood sugar levels and recording lows when they occur will help you and your diabetes health care team keep your blood sugar levels in a healthy range.

What To Do If You Have Symptoms

Very low blood sugar is a medical emergency. If someone you know has diabetes and theyre experiencing mild to moderate symptoms, have them eat or drink 15 grams of easily digestible carbohydrates, such as:

half a cup of juice or regular soda
1 tablespoon of honey
4 or 5 saltine crackers
3 or 4 pieces of hard candy or glucose tablets
1 tablespoon of sugar

If someone is having a severe reaction, such as unconsciousness, its important to administer a medication called glucagon and contact emergency services immediately.

People who are at risk for low blood sugar should talk with their doctor about getting a prescription for glucagon. You should never give an unconscious person anything by mouth, as it could cause them to choke.

Low blood sugar can occur for a number of reasons. Its usually a side effect of diabetes treatment.

Does Everyone Have Symptoms From Hypoglycemia

Some people dont have symptoms or dont notice them. Healthcare providers call that situation hypoglycemia unawareness. People with such a challenge arent aware when they need to do something about their blood sugar. Theyre then more likely to have severe episodes and need medical help. People with hypoglycemia unawareness should check their blood sugar more often.