According to International
Diabetes Federation (IDF), 415 million adults were living with diabetes in 2015
and this number is expected to increase to around 642 million or one in ten
adults by 2040. However, the awareness about the disease is still low in India.
Low blood sugar can happen to diabetic patients, if they take high dosage
of insulin, do not eat sufficiently well, exercise vigorously without
decreasing their dose of insulin or drink excessive alcohol. It is important to
be aware and understand the symptoms of hypoglycaemia and its preventive
measures especially if you are a diabetic.
The main symptoms to look out for
when you are at an early stage of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) are sweating,
trembling of hands or the body, feeling hungry or feeling anxious. If this is
untreated the patient the symptoms start getting severe which includes difficulty
in walking, weakness, difficulty in seeing things clearly, state of confusion
and unconsciousness or seizures.
The best way to treat low blood sugar
is to constantly monitor your blood sugar levels using a gluco-meter. Also, if
you are a diabetic always carry glucose tablets like glucagon, hard candies or
glucose powder. If the patient is still aware, giving sweets orally can help
bring the blood sugar levels up. However, if the patient is unconscious, you
should not use oral methods as they can be dangerous. Instead it's important
that a friend or family members are trained to recognize severe low blood sugar
levels and can help you with a glucagon injection in severe cases.
A family member or friend should
immediately call the ambulance when: n The patient suffering from hypoglycaemia
and remains confused 15 minutes even after being treated with glucagon.
n Are unconscious and glucagon is not
available.
n Continue to have low blood sugar despite eating adequate amounts of a
fast-acting carbohydrate or receiving glucagon.
Dr. Firozahmad H Torgal, Consultant
Emergency Medicine, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur
Source: DNA-14th January,2017
