How dangerous is hypoglycemia? This is the best way to prevent it

GĐXH - Hypoglycemia, if not treated promptly, can cause dangerous complications such as brain damage, increased risk of injury due to falls and cognitive impairment.

What is hypoglycemia?

Hypoglycemia is a condition that occurs when blood sugar levels are too low, below 3.9 mmol/l ( blood sugar causes).

Hypoglycemia can be caused by many things, such as taking too much insulin or other diabetes medications, not eating enough or waiting too long between meals, exercising without eating enough, not eating enough carbohydrates, an unhealthy diet, or drinking too much alcohol causing hormonal imbalances.

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Signs of hypoglycemia

When suffering from hypoglycemia, patients often have symptoms such as: Central nervous system disorders causing symptoms: blurred vision, double vision, headache, confusion, memory loss, convulsions, coma...

Autonomic nervous system disorders make the patient anxious, restless, sweaty, have trembling hands and feet, rapid heartbeat, vomiting/nausea, feeling hungry...

At this time, when measuring blood sugar, the blood glucose concentration will be below 70mg/dL (3.9 mmol/l). - Clinical symptoms will improve when the patient is supplemented with glucose.

Who is at risk for hypoglycemia?

- People susceptible to hypoglycemia are the elderly, people who are unable to take care of themselves, people who often have digestive disorders (vomiting, loss of appetite), patients with acute illnesses leading to poor appetite, patients with severe liver or kidney disease or those undergoing dialysis.

- People with a history of severe hypoglycemia or hypoglycemia unawareness, hypoglycemia after exercise or hypoglycemia during sleep.

- Even healthy people can experience hypoglycemia when they exercise too much without supplementing food before exercise.

- Hypoglycemia due to over-aggressive treatment (low blood sugar target or low HbA1c). In the elderly who always try to maintain blood sugar

What to do when blood sugar suddenly drops?

If the patient has mild hypoglycemia and is still conscious, he or she should immediately drink sugar water or other sugary foods and drinks, followed by porridge, milk, fruit, and cakes.

Patients need to quickly stop using oral hypoglycemic drugs or insulin when they see signs of hypoglycemia.

In severe cases, when the patient has fallen into a coma, lost consciousness, and is unable to swallow, if given to drink, it will cause choking in the respiratory tract. The patient must be taken immediately to the hospital for intravenous injection of 20-30% hypertonic sweet solution (40-60ml).

Next, combine with a drip infusion of 5-10% glucose solution to avoid the risk of hypoglycemia recurrence. Glucose will continue to be infused until the patient fully recovers and is able to eat and drink on their own.

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How to prevent hypoglycemia

Patients should proactively prevent hypoglycemia and control their daily blood sugar levels to protect their health with some simple measures such as:

- Build a scientific diet, before exercising you need to eat enough carbohydrates before exercising and have a snack during exercise if necessary.

- You need to eat extra meals as soon as your blood sugar shows signs of being low or when new signs of illness appear.

- Check blood sugar regularly and follow treatment as directed by your doctor. Do not take medication without a prescription or stop taking medication when symptoms improve.

- Always carry sugar or sugary products such as candy, cakes, chocolate in your bag or pocket so you can use them immediately in case of hypoglycemia.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/ha-duong-huyet-nguy-hiem-the-nao-day-la-cach-phong-benh-tot-nhat-172250318152942234.htm