What Are The Symptoms Of Low Blood Sugar

 What Are The Symptoms Of Low Blood Sugar

Diabetes patients experience low blood sugar levels.

The causes of a pathological disease are numerous and rely on a variety of variables.

There are situations that cause the development of deteriorating well-being:

1. A simple diet with carbohydrates.
2. Taking drugs with antidiabetic effects sometimes threatens hypoglycemia (drugs of past generations lead to a state of glycemia).
3. Drinks without food.
4. Taking medications or alcohol at the same time as sugar-lowering medications.
5. Violation of diet, skipping the next portion of food.
6. Intake of increased amounts of insulin during the injection.
7. Excessive exercise.

The symptoms of low blood sugar vary. The list includes a sharp deterioration in well-being, weakness, loss of appetite, fever, etc.

Signs of low blood sugar can occur in patients with diabetes. In this case, low blood sugar, the causes of which are listed below, leads to the appearance of hypoglycemia that accompanies diabetes.

Low sugar levels can occur due to:

• drink a lot of alcohol;
• as a result of taking certain medications;
• as a result of diseases that interfere with the normal functioning of the liver, kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas;
• in diagnosing metabolic disorders in the body;
• after excessive physical exertion;
• as a result of dietary intake, especially if it contains too low a carbohydrate content;
• large time intervals between meals (from 8 hours).

All of these reasons can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar in a healthy person. Therefore, it is important to prevent such situations.

How does the disease manifest itself?

Lowering blood sugar has certain signs. By knowing them, you can try to avoid the negative consequences and prevent the development of coma.

The symptoms of low blood sugar can vary for each person, depending on the level at which the reduction has occurred.

The appearance of different symptoms also depends on the rate of reduction of sugar.

If the sugar level drops to three points eight-tenths of a mmol / L or lower. When such low blood sugar is noticed, the symptoms can be as follows:

• The first signs may be a weakness, tremors all over the body, and chills.
• The drop in blood sugar is accompanied by heavy sweating, cold sticky sweat is noticed, usually, the head sweats first, especially the neck.
• Dizziness observed.
• Feeling hungry.
• Nausea can be another symptom.
• Nervousness, anxiety, and anxiety.
• Heart palpitations (tachycardia).
• When glucose drops, tingling or stiffness of the lips can also be noticed on the fingers.
• If the blood sugar is lower than the physiologically determined norm, then the patient may complain of blurred vision.

Any of the above signs can cause very negative consequences. Therefore, if a person feels one of these symptoms, then it is necessary to call a doctor as soon as possible. Which treatment methods should be carried out in order to reduce high sugar and normalize its level, hypoglycemic medication should be taken.

Why is there such a deterioration in health? The reasons for the fall are that the patient does not follow a diet or suffers from excessive physical exertion. The cause of the fall can be stressful.

Be sure to prescribe a low sugar diet. This includes the use of special products that contribute to the normalization of this indicator ..

It is necessary to eliminate the causes of low sugar and remember that a disease like diabetes requires adherence to the correct regime of the day and all other recommendations of experts.

Low blood sugar - why it is dangerous and why glucose falls

Low blood sugar is called hypoglycemia. This indicator is also dangerous, as is the state of high sugar in its composition. A rapid decrease in glucose leads to coma and threatens death.

Most cases of reduced glucose are the cause and consequence of complications of diabetes (sugar). But there are cases when a small sharp drop can be in the body of a healthy person.

Hypoglycemia means that the body lacks glucose which is very necessary for the normal functioning of vital organs and all systems in the adult human body.

In order to avoid a misplaced result, it is necessary to monitor the level of sugar at the first symptoms.

Especially for people who have diabetes, as well as those who are at risk due to a number of diseases.

Causes of low glucose

The most common cause of low blood glucose is starvation. There are also reasons for the development of hypoglycemia.

When the stomach is not full:

• Long food refusal (more than 8 10 hours),
• Eating unlimited carbohydrates,
• Dehydration,
• A large amount of alcohol consumed,
• Reaction to taking certain medications,
• Use of drugs together with alcoholic beverages,
• Liver failure,
• High body weight,
• High physical activity,
• Pathology in hormone production and increased release of insulin into the blood,
• Failure: cardiac and renal.

Symptoms and signs

A completely healthy person can lower blood sugar only in the morning when the stomach is not full and there is a clear feeling of hunger. To normalize this condition, you just need to eat.

Symptoms in an adult when glucose is low (mild):

• Hand trimmer,
• Hot color,
• Increased sweating,
• Heart rate,
• Increased thirst (polydipsia),
• Vision problems (feeling of fog in the eyes, bifurcation of objects, sensation of lateral objects in the visual field),
• Headache, often severe,
• Apathy, depression, and drowsiness,
• Pale face and upper limbs,
• Weakness in the muscles, as well as weakness in the legs,
• Acute tachycardia,
• Sweating of the palm in any climate.

Symptoms of diabetes.

Symptoms of low blood glucose can occur not only in the human awake state but also in the state of sleep:

• Increased sweating,
• Bedtime conversations,
• Development of a hangover,
• nightmares,
• Unstable behavior in sleep, which leads to falling from the place of sleep,
• Irritability after sleep.

Such feelings are caused by the fact that starvation of the cerebral cortex occurs during the period of sleep. Glucose needs to be measured and if the concentration is less than 3.3 mmol / l, then you need to eat urgently.

Degree of reduction of glucose index

With low blood sugar, the symptoms are not the same. It depends on the degree and rate of glucose drop.

The degree of glucose reduction can be:

A mild form of glucose reduction when the level drops to 3.8 mmol / L, and also slightly lower.

Signs and symptoms of low glucose index:

• Weakness in the body, severe chills, hand trimmer,
• High enough sweating,
• Turning the head, which is heightened by a sudden change in head posture,
• Feeling of an empty stomach,
• Nausea and vomiting are not uncommon,
• Excessive excitement, nervous tension,
• Cardiopalmus,
• Don't have tongues and lips,
• Finger phalanx thickness,
• Blurred vision through objects.

What to do? To improve your well-being at this stage of hypoglycemia, it is enough to eat.

The average form of glucose drops when the level drops to 3 mmol / L, and also slightly below this indicator. At this stage, the body feels psychological, nervous, and emotional malfunctions, as well as the physical condition significantly deteriorates.

Signs and symptoms when sugar drops to 3 mmol / l:

• The confusing phase of consciousness,
• It is not possible to move in space,
• Muscle cramps,
• Inhibition in consciousness and speech,
• Speech mismatch,
• Violation of movement coordination,
• Causal drowsiness,
• Weakness of the whole organism,

At this stage of hypoglycemia, you need to see a doctor.

A severe form, when glucose is lowered and the coefficient drops to 2 mmol / l, and also slightly below this indicator. Why is a low sugar concentration dangerous? Such a sharp drop in sugar can be life-threatening enough.

Signs and symptoms:

• Full body cramps,
• Condition to whom,
• strike,
• Low body temperature,
• Fatal outcome.

If glucose is below normal for a long time, what does that mean?

This means that the reasons may be such that irreversible changes occur in a person's body in the cerebral cortex, as well as in the heart and circulatory system. Symptoms of hypoglycemia may not be pronounced if the sugar has dropped and the patient is taking medications and beta-blockers.

The mechanism through which glucose is produced in the body.

Symptoms of each degree of lowering of sugar can appear in each individually and with different indicators of blood glucose.

Hypoglycemia in a child does not cause such symptoms because the child's body does not respond to a reduction in sugar within 2.5 mmol / l.

Signs of hypoglycemia can also occur with a normal sugar index if there is a sharp fluctuation in it. In patients suffering from type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia occurs even when the sugar drops to 6 mmol/liter and even 8 mmol/liter.

Diagnosis of hypoglycemia

In order for a doctor to diagnose hypoglycemia and determine the reasons for its reduction, it is enough to take a blood sugar test. Blood is drawn from the finger for testing.

The doctor must determine where this is coming from. The doctor also examines the patient's body and checks his emotional and psychological state.

It is important to find out the patient's lifestyle, fluctuations or increase in body volume, as well as medications that the patient is taking during this period.

The reasons for the fluctuation of sugar can be in that.

Low blood sugar

Doctors usually mean low blood sugar due to hypoglycemia, a pathological symptom expressed by a decrease in blood glucose levels below generally accepted norms. This condition is caused by a number of factors, which lead to the development of the hypoglycemic syndrome and various negative conditions/problems.

What does that mean?

Analyzes showed that the blood glucose level dropped below 3.3 mmol / L? It is a rather dangerous condition, leading to a number of negative concomitant syndromes, and in some cases causing a coma (a life-threatening condition between life and death, characterized by loss of consciousness, sharp weakening, or lack of response to external irritations). As already mentioned, a number of reasons can cause hypoglycemia, from the physiological characteristics of the body to disease and poor nutrition. The pathogenesis of the problem also differs significantly from the provoking cause of the decrease in blood sugar concentration that scientists have not fully understood.

Symptoms of hypoglycemia

The main symptoms of hypoglycemia include:

Adrenergic disorders - mydriasis, heavy sweating, pale skin, tremors, muscle hypertonicity, anxiety with anxiety, anxiety, and aggression, tachycardia and high blood pressure.

Parasympathetic symptoms - general weakness of the body, nausea with vomiting, vague feeling of hunger.

Neuroglycopenic manifestations - dizziness and moderate headache, disorders of central genesis and respiration, disorientation and fainting, impaired consciousness with amnesia, focal and systemic neurological symptoms, manifestations of primitive automatisms, sometimes inappropriate behavior. Paresthesia and diplopia are less common.

Possible reasons

• A drop in blood sugar can be caused by the following reasons:
• Overdose of insulin and sugar-lowering drugs for diabetes.
• Dehydration.
• A too mild and irrational diet with a predominance of refined carbohydrates and the least vitamins, fiber, mineral salts.
• Strong physical activity.
• Alcoholism.
• Various insufficiency - heart, liver, kidney.
• Total body exhaustion.
• Hormonal insufficiency by inhibiting the synthesis of glucagon, adrenaline, cortisol, somatropin.
• Extracellular tumors, insulinomas, and congenital anomalies of the autoimmune spectrum.
• Excessive ingestion of saline by drip.
• A wide range of chronic diseases.
• menses.

Low blood sugar in men and women

Blood glucose levels of less than 3.5 mmol/L in both sexes are a clear indication of a problem in the body. As practice has shown, hypoglycemia in adults happens in the great majority of instances when diabetes is treated for an extended period of time. If the work regime and diet are not followed too strictly, and breaking circadian rhythms complements physical activity, then taking oral sugar-lowering medications or insulin injections can lower glucose levels more than necessary.

Many people with alcoholism also feel a significant reduction in blood glucose levels due to the side effects of ethanol, creating an accelerated depletion of glycogen stores and, accordingly, inhibition of associated genesis. It is necessary to monitor the current blood sugar level during the day because hypoglycemia can be no less dangerous than hyperglycemia: it also causes coma, although less dangerous for the body.

Low blood sugar in a child

In children, hypoglycemia occurs mainly due to a low-calorie diet and large differences between meals due to high motor activity and strong psychological stress. The poor living regime for parents who do not have enough sleep also contributes ..

Much less often in children, there is an idiopathic form of familial hypoglycemia, which is detected and manifested in a child under two years of age. The reduction in blood sugar occurs due to the high sensitivity of the body to free leucine. It acts as a catalyst for the accelerated synthesis of natural insulin and blocks gluconeogenesis in the liver.

Hypoglycemia in the newborn deserves special attention. As a rule, the symptom is detected in premature babies with hypothermia, respiratory problems, and asphyxia during childbirth. It manifests in the first hours of life. An additional risk factor is a mother with type 2 diabetes and taking sugar-lowering medications. In this case, urgent intensive therapy by ingesting glucose, glucagon and hydrocortisone into the body is necessary.

Possible effects of low blood sugar

In addition to the neuroglycopenic and adrenergic side effects described above, which disappear after proper therapy, patients may develop hypoglycemic coma, as well as brain disorders, to a wide range of dementia. In addition, low blood sugar is an additional risk factor and causes retinal bleeding, stroke, and myocardial infarction in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Low sugar treatment (hypoglycemia)

Treatment is based on conservative treatment of the underlying disease and elimination of symptoms of hypoglycemia ..

Drugs and medicines

Intravenous administration of glucose by the drip method or oral administration of the dextrose monosaccharide, which bypasses the digestive tract, is immediately absorbed into the blood through the oral cavity.

Combinatorial intake of simple "fast" and "slow" complex carbohydrates in limited quantities.

If the above measures are ineffective - intramuscular injection of glucagon.

In critical situations, fractional injections of corticosteroids - hydrocortisone, as well as adrenaline are allowed.

Strict adherence to a special diet.

Traditional remedies

Any of the above recipes of traditional medicine, presented below, must be in accordance with the doctor!

Take 15-20 drops of Leuzea tincture three times a day, which can be bought at the pharmacy. Pre-dilute the dose in a tablespoon of water at room temperature.

Take in equal proportions 2 grams of wheatgrass, carrots, hemophilia, chamomile, ginger cinnamon, and plantation, add one gram of sweet sweet onion and wormwood. Pour the mixture with 0.5 liters of boiling water and let it cook for 25 minutes. Strain the liquid through three layers of gauze and take the drug of 50 grams, three times a day for a month.

Pour one tablespoon of chopped unpeeled rose berries with two cups of boiling water. Leave to cool for fifteen minutes, strain through cheesecake and drink ½ cups twice a day for two weeks.

Consume garlic and lingonberry regularly, preferably fresh.

Prevention of hypoglycemia

The list of basic preventive measures to prevent a significant reduction in blood sugar includes a diet with a fractional diet and daily routine, and correction of treatment for diabetes mellitus. In addition, it is recommended to take complex multivitamins with a mandatory chromium content in them, quit alcohol and smoking, dosed physical activity, as well as acquainting all family members with a possible problem, and refer to the necessary measures in case of sudden symptoms.

Proper nutrition 

With low blood sugar, the endocrinologist prescribes you an individual diet, taking into account the severity of the problem, the presence of a particular type of diabetes, as well as the current state of the body.

Increase your intake of complex carbohydrates by eating vegetables, durum wheat pasta, wholemeal bread.

Completely exclude alcohol, porridge, pasta from soft varieties of wheat, muffins, fatty and very strong soups, all kinds of culinary and meat fats, spices, smoked foods, pepper, and mustard.

Eat sweets, cookies, honey, and juice very moderately.

Eat fractionally, in small portions, remember to eat protein foods with the least fat.

Focus on foods that are high in fiber, which slows the absorption of sugar from complex carbohydrates. The best options are corn, peas, potatoes with a jacket.

Be sure to include fruit, fresh and dried, or in your own juice that contains moderate or small amounts of sugar.

Choose lean sources of protein - fish, beans, chicken or rabbit.

Limit the use of caffeine, which in large quantities significantly worsens the process of hypoglycemia.

Replace fizzy drinks with mineral-free ones.

You can get the protein you need for your body from alternative products - nuts, low-fat dairy products.

Estimated daily menu

Breakfast with two boiled eggs and unsweetened tea with a small piece of whole-grain bread.

Drink a glass of milk or one unsweetened medium-sized fruit.

We have lunch with soup on lean meat soup and vegetable salad. In addition - a portion of boiled fish and tea.

Afternoon snack with some fruit and herbal tea. Alternative - 50 grams of walnuts.

Dinner stewed or rabbit meat with a side dish of vegetables. You can use chicory as a substitute for tea and coffee.

Two hours before bedtime - a glass of 1 percent kefir.

Pay attention to your diet, eat properly, follow your daily routine, and in most cases, you can get rid of hypoglycemia without medication!

The first symptoms and treatment of hypoglycemia

1. Low blood sugar
2. 10 minutes Published by Lyubov Dobretsova 1115

Hypoglycemia, or, as it is commonly called, low blood sugar, is quite dangerous, especially for patients with diabetes. It can be determined by physiological manifestations, general deterioration of well-being, and also when examining blood glucose levels, the result of which will show values ​​below generally accepted norms.

The signs that accompany this condition in the human body are usually poorly tolerated and can lead to a rapid and significant increase in negative symptoms. In some cases, hypoglycemia indicates an insufficient quality correction of diabetes or a parallel course of pathological processes of a different nature.

Detailed blood glucose

It is initially worth saying that a blood sugar test is a generally accepted term, but within modern medicine, this is not entirely true. The very phrase "blood sugar" dates back to the Middle Ages. Doctors and healers at the time believed that the amount of sugar was directly related to the occurrence of excessive thirst, purulent infections, and frequent urination.

Today, it is no secret to doctors that there is no so-called sugar (sucrose) in the blood because studies have confirmed that simple sugars are converted into glucose by chemical reactions. And she, in turn, already performs one of the leading functions in metabolism. And now, when it comes to the norm of blood sugar, it means the content of glucose, a universal substance that supplies energy to all human tissues and organs.

Its participation transfers heat nourishes the brain and the entire nervous system, and toxins are also removed from the body. When supplied with food, glucose is consumed by tissues, and it is also deposited and accumulated in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen, which, if necessary, can be converted back into simple sugars and returned to the blood.

Thus, the circulation of glucose in the body supports its normal functioning and thus the well-being of the person. Glucose (C 6 H 12 O 6 ) refers to the most important substance in terms of metabolism, and any violation of its concentration can cause the development of serious complications.

In addition to glucose, the breakdown of sucrose in the digestive tract (gastrointestinal tract) also produces fructose, which is also a simple saccharide, like the first one. In diabetes, there is a lack of hormones that stimulate the absorption of glucose, as a result of which it is retained in the blood instead of being converted to glycogen.

Elevated blood glucose, as well as in urine, are direct laboratory signs of the disease and pose a danger to human life and health. Insulin prescribed to such patients helps convert free glucose into glycogen.

In this case, it often happens that an incorrectly chosen dose of insulin or an incorrect meal can lead to glucose deficiency and the development of hypoglycemia, which is as dangerous a condition as hyperglycemia. In certain situations, serious health consequences can develop even with short-term glycemia, especially if the level drops very quickly.

The reasons for the fall

The drop in blood glucose can be physiological, ie observed in healthy people, or pathological, due to the appearance of certain diseases. The main causes of low disease-free sugar are:

low-calorie intake in the daily diet as a result of malnutrition, which can be, for example, a strict diet, in order to lose weight quickly;

drug and alcohol intoxication, poisoning of the body with arsenic salts, chloroform, dehydration;

long intervals between meals, lasting more than 8 hours, eating disorders (bulimia, anorexia), thirst;

intravenous drops of saline without added glucose;

excessive physical exertion, for example, excessive work during work or professional sports;

increased intake of carbohydrates, ie excess sweets, confectionery, carbonated beverages with high sugar content, as well as foods with a high glycemic index.

In such situations, there is a lack of energy, which the body eliminates by internal "reserves" - the inverse transformation of glycogen stored in the bone muscles and liver. Also, a decrease in blood sugar can occur due to the development of various diseases, such as:

• type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus - glucose levels often fall as a result of an overdose of insulin or other drugs that contribute to its reduction;
• diseases of the kidneys, adrenal glands, or liver;
• kidney and heart failure, stroke;
• obesity, pancreatitis, sarcoidosis, hormonal disorders,
• insulinoma - a tumor of the pancreas, whose cells are able to produce insulin, thus creating its excess in the body.

A decrease in blood sugar with the wrong dose of insulin is most commonly observed, which implies that hypoglycemia is most dangerous for people who suffer from diabetes and are forced to take this hormone.

The second place is attributed to physical exhaustion resulting from a background of starvation or malnutrition. Other options are quite rare, they are not always accompanied by additional symptoms, and without a doctor, it will be impossible to find out why the sugar has dropped.

Manifestations of moderate hypoglycemia

To always be alert and be able to react quickly to a change in the general well-being of you or a loved one, you should know the main signs that accompany low blood sugar. The following manifestations are most common in adults:

• general weakness, unreasonable fatigue;
• headache, dizziness;
• trembling (trembling) in the limbs, their tingling;
• tachycardia (heart palpitations);
• rapid irregular heartbeat, drowsiness;
• excessive nervousness, irritability;
• feeling very hungry, sweating;
• impaired coordination, pale skin,
• pupils dilated, double in eyes, darker.

All of the above symptoms of low blood sugar can be noticed when sitting or lying still or sleeping. They are caused by the fact that the brain consumes glucose in approximately the same amounts as the muscles, and when it is not there, it also starves.

As a rule, a person who has restless sleep, often accompanied by nightmares, may behave noisily, try to get up without waking up. As a result, the patient often falls out of bed, sweats profusely, wakes up from cramps in the lower extremities, and suffers from headaches in the morning.

If glucose is not administered to a person at this stage of hypoglycemia (best in the digestible form: sugar, sweets, honey, cake, etc.), then his condition will worsen. A further drop in glucose concentration can cause more serious and dangerous symptoms for the patient's health and life:

• confusion of consciousness;
• incoherent speech;
• convulsive seizures.

Lowering and further glucose sometimes cause stroke and/or coma, usually followed by death.

Symptoms of a sharp drop in sugar

A sudden drop in glucose in most cases develops in patients with type 1 diabetes who require regular subcutaneous injections of insulin. In some situations, a rapid drop in sugar concentration causes an overdose of insulin due to improper use.

At the same time, it may decrease sharply in patients with type 2 diabetes who take drugs that stimulate insulin synthesis by the pancreas. These are most often sulfonylurea derivatives and meglitinide group preparations. When blood glucose drops sharply, a person develops characteristic symptoms, which are:

• tachycardia, trembling limbs;
• pale skin;
• loss of ability to move in space;
• slowing reactions or, conversely, restless behavior, aggression.

Low blood sugar in pregnant women

The symptoms of low blood glucose in women do not differ much from the manifestations of this condition in men. With the decline of the described substance, the representatives of the weak half of humanity can experience:

• increased heart rate, combined with strong unexplained fear and feelings of anxiety;
• dizziness, visual impairment, tremor, and limb weakness;
• increased sweating and the appearance of severe hunger.

Low blood sugar is often seen in women who have a baby, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. This is due to a significant change in the hormonal background, which increases insulin sensitivity in the cells of the body. As a result, a pregnant woman's body tissue consumes glucose faster.

And also the body of the fetus needs glucose. Unlike diabetes that develops in pregnant women, low blood glucose in women preparing to become mothers is not particularly dangerous but requires only a fractional diet. That is, they should eat often, but in smaller meals.

When to see a doctor?

The glucose-lowering threshold at which symptoms of hypoglycemia appear is individual to each patient. Some will feel normal with an index below 2.2 mmol / L, while for others a value of 3 becomes critical and they are more likely to develop a coma.

Patients with type 1 diabetes should measure their blood sugar several times a day using a portable personal blood glucose meter. Those who do not use this device, and often do not suspect the presence of diabetes (mostly adults who have developed type 2 diabetes in adulthood), should be warned and become a reason to visit an endocrinologist:

• an unexpected increase in resting heart rate;
• feeling tired and weak in the lower extremities;
• increased sweating in the absence of physical activity;
• fights of unreasonable fear, trembling hands;
• inability to concentrate;
• the pain of weakness or dizziness;
• vision impairment.

In the case of one or several manifestations, the first actions of a person should be to seek medical help and undergo all the necessary tests. The doctor will advise the patient in detail, tell you what to do in such situations, and may recommend a lifestyle adjustment.

Norms and deviations

In order not to miss a sharp and significant drop in glucose, but, on the contrary, to monitor hypoglycemia in time, you must come to the laboratory on an empty stomach and take a finger of blood from your finger. At home, this can be done using a glucometer, which every diabetic should have.

Blood sugar ranges from 3 to 6 mmol / l, namely:

• neonates 2.7-4.5 mmol / l;
• older children - 3-5.5 mmol / l;
• adults - 3.5-6 mmol / l.

It should not be forgotten that for adults the value of 5.5-6 mmol / l is considered an alarm bell, which in medicine is called the condition of prediabetes. A shift of the coefficient to the lower limit of the norm may indicate exhaustion of the body or persistent hypoglycemia.

A condition in which blood glucose is sharply reduced and at the same time is accompanied by neurological symptoms: convulsive syndrome, loss of consciousness, is very dangerous and therefore requires urgent hospital treatment. In the process of therapy and correction of blood sugar levels, additional studies will certainly be conducted to help understand the cause of these deviations.

And also the doctor will talk to the patient about measures to improve the body, which include diet, renunciation of bad habits, the fight against obesity, and adequate rest. As a rule, changes in lifestyle, diet, and nutrition in the early stages of the disease help reduce the likelihood of serious health problems.