Hypoglycemia is an abnormally low level of sugar in the blood. It is the body’s inability to properly handle large amounts of sugar that the average person consumes. In hypoglycemia, the pancreas sends out too much insulin and the blood sugar plummets below the level necessary to maintain well-being.
What are the symptoms?Common symptoms of hypoglycemia include: excessive sweating, tremors, dizziness, unconscious state and seizures. In rare cases, the BP can go very high and in a diabetic with pre-existing coronary artery disease, it can even cause a heart attack.
What are the causes?
Low blood sugar is often caused due to the mismatch between the food consumed and the anti-diabetic medicine the patient is taking. It can also be a result of skipping a meal after taking the diabetic medicine or having too little food because of fever, loose motions etc after taking the regular anti-diabetic medicines.
What is the treatment?
The immediate treatment is to give the patient glucose or sugar to increase the blood sugar level after checking it either by a glaucometer, if there is one present at home or from the nearest laboratory.
What is hyperglycemia?
It is a condition where a person’s blood contains an abnormally high level of blood sugar (glucose). Chronic levels, exceeding 125 mg/dl can cause organ damage. When the body has too little, or not enough insulin or when the body can’t use insulin properly, it leads to high blood glucose.
What are the symptoms?
High blood sugar is also known as hyperglycemia. The symptoms of hyperglycemia include: Polyuria (excessive urination), Polydipsia (excessive thirst), Polyphagia (excessive appetite), weight loss, blurring of vision and delayed wound healing.
What are the causes?Various factors that contribute to hyperglycemia are: skipping or forgetting your insulin or oral glucose-lowering medicine, intake of excessive carbohydrates and calories, infection, increased stress, decreased activity or exercising less than usual, strenuous physical activity etc.
What is the treatment?Hyperglycemia is treated with oral anti-diabetic drugs and/or insulin depending upon the condition of the patient.
What does the doctor say?
Both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are conditions that are detrimental to one’s health. They require immediate attention from a qualified specialist.
Prof Dr CV Harinarayan, MD (Int Med), DM (Endocrinology, AIIMS, New Delhi), chief consultant, Wockhardt Hospitals
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