Do you know the symptoms of 'hypoglycemia'?

 

Hypoglycemia is a condition in which blood sugar is lower than the required amount due to abnormalities in the body or external factors, and various abnormalities occur as metabolism becomes insufficient. Metabolism is an activity that uses sugar (glucose) in human cells to generate energy necessary for life activities. Therefore, when hypoglycemia occurs, energy necessary for life activities is insufficient. Describes symptoms, tests and diagnosis, and treatment for hypoglycemia.

What is hypoglycemia?

The human body acts to raise blood sugar when the blood sugar is below 70 g/dL, and when it is less than 50 mg/dL, the central nerves such as the brain are in a state of lack of energy (sugar). In general, hypoglycemia is a condition in which the blood sugar is less than 70 mg/dL.

In particular, since the brain can only use sugar as a metabolic material, it is most susceptible to hypoglycemia, and when the blood sugar is less than 50 mg/dL, symptoms such as impaired consciousness, convulsions, night sweats, palpitations, and tremors of the hands and feet occur.

Hypoglycemia is sometimes caused by extreme malnutrition, but the most frequent occurrence is when diabetics have hypoglycemia caused by hypoglycemic agents or insulin. Hypoglycemia is a dangerous condition that can cause serious sequelae if left untreated, but it is recovered early with sugar administration, so let's understand the correct knowledge and treatment methods for hypoglycemia.

Also, even if your blood sugar is not below 70 mg/dL, you need to be careful because the symptoms of hypoglycemia may not appear even if your blood sugar drops sharply due to treatment, or even if your blood sugar is lower than 70 mg/dL. Hypoglycemia can be recovered by properly responding to symptoms when symptoms occur, so do not adjust or stop the amount of medicine at your own risk for fear of hypoglycemia, and be sure to consult with your doctor.

hypoglycemia symptoms

When the blood sugar is below 70mg/dL, the sympathetic nerve is activated to raise the blood sugar and hormones including adrenaline are secreted in large amounts, causing symptoms such as nausea, discomfort, mood discomfort, sweating, and tremors.

Moreover, when blood sugar drops to about 50 mg/dL, central nervous system symptoms appear, and visual disturbances, consciousness disturbance, convulsions, etc. may occur, and in severe cases, death may occur. However, in those who frequently experience hypoglycemia or who have little awareness of symptoms of hypoglycemia, sympathetic symptoms such as sweating may not appear, resulting in unconscious hypoglycemia.

Unconscious hypoglycemia refers to a case in which blood sugar is lowered to about 60 mg/dL in an unconscious state or when blood sugar is lower than 50 mg/dL and sudden central nervous symptoms appear. This is a very serious condition that can lead to death and requires a response as quickly as possible.

What causes hypoglycemia?

There are three main causes of hypoglycemia: insufficient nutritional intake (insufficient amount of food or carbohydrates, delay in meal time after using medicines, during and after exercise, exercise on an empty stomach when the amount of exercise or exercise time is high, after exercise, exercise on an empty stomach, drinking, bathing ), harmful phenomena caused by hypoglycemic agents (injection of insulin or taking large amounts of drugs), abnormalities in the endocrine system or abnormalities in the liver.

In addition, some antiarrhythmic drugs or quinolone antibacterial drugs can cause hypoglycemia.

What is undernutrition?

Insufficient meal intake due to eating disorders, malabsorption in the digestive tract, alcoholism, etc. causes hypoglycemia due to poor nutrition and low blood sugar.

What are the adverse effects of hypoglycemic agents?

Since diabetes medications have an effect of lowering blood sugar, excessive blood sugar drop may occur due to the effect of the drug and the way you eat. In addition, treatment with insulin can also cause excessive hypoglycemia.

What is an endocrine system abnormality or liver abnormality?

The structure that maintains blood sugar in the body lowers blood sugar by insulin secreted from the pancreas, and when the blood sugar is below 70 mg/dL, hormones secreted from the pancreas, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands are mainly stored in the liver, glycogen (a sugar called glucose). It raises blood sugar by breaking down substances that are linked in large amounts.

Abnormalities in this structure result in hypoglycemia. For example, hypoglycemia occurs due to excessive insulin secretion by insulinoma, which is a tumorigenic tumor of pancreatic cells that make insulin. When liver cell function is abnormal due to cirrhosis, etc., even if the hormone that raises blood sugar is secreted, the liver response is lowered and blood sugar does not rise, resulting in hypoglycemia.

How is hypoglycemia tested and diagnosed?

If symptoms of hypoglycemia appear, see an internal medicine doctor. First, a blood test is performed to check whether the blood sugar is less than 70mg/dL, and even if the blood sugar is more than 70mg/dL, the blood sugar is not lowered more rapidly than usual. . As a test to investigate the cause of hypoglycemia, it is a 24-hour urine test that measures the amount of C-peptide, a part of insulin, made in the body. In blood tests, serum insulin and C-peptide levels are measured, general liver and kidney functions are checked, and pancreatic lesions are checked by imaging tests, and severe liver cirrhosis is confirmed.

Others include a 72-hour fasting test or the glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which looks at changes in blood sugar levels after sugar intake. Diabetes medications are highly likely to cause hypoglycemia and some are not, so check which type of medication you are taking.

hypoglycemia treatment

Hypoglycemia treatment involves first aid such as feeding a drink with a high sugar content, such as 10 g of glucose or juice containing glucose, or administering a high concentration of glucose with Ringer to relieve the condition of hypoglycemia. At this time, if you are addicted to alcohol or are pregnant, you may have vitamin B1 deficiency, so vitamin B1 may be administered at the same time. After resolving the hypoglycemic state, the cause of hypoglycemia is investigated and treatment is carried out for the cause.

In the case of hypoglycemia due to malnutrition, family members are also instructed to review lifestyle habits. If the cause is a hypoglycemic agent, report it to your doctor and ask for a change of prescription. In particular, SU drugs, which are used to treat diabetes, often cause hypoglycemia, so change them to drugs that are difficult to cause hypoglycemia. In addition, if the cause is a pancreatic tumor such as insulinoma, the tumor is removed through surgery.

In severe hypoglycemia, it is difficult for the person to swallow glucose because his or her consciousness is not clear. Since there is a risk of accidentally swallowing or suffocating if you overfeed glucose, dissolve glucose and sugar in water, apply it between your lips and gums, and transport it to a medical institution in an emergency.

For hypoglycemia in which consciousness is not clear, even if the blood sugar is temporarily improved as an emergency treatment, there is a high possibility that the blood sugar will fall again and the same condition will occur. Therefore, it is necessary to consult a medical institution.

In the case of hypoglycemia, when the person is unable to take glucose by mouth, etc., family members or people around them may respond by using injectable drugs or glucagon drugs to raise blood sugar. Please contact us for guidance and guidance.

After the occurrence of hypoglycemia, it is important to identify and solve the cause of hypoglycemia in the future, so consult with your doctor or medical staff. Prevention of hypoglycemia is important. Based on past experiences with hypoglycemia, let's be aware of situations that are prone to hypoglycemia, and be mindful of research that does not lead to hypoglycemia. You need to consult with your doctor about your diet and the amount of medicine.

If you are prone to hypoglycemia during exercise, refrain from exercising on an empty stomach and measure your blood sugar before or during exercise for a long time or with a heavy load. In particular, those with type 1 diabetes and those taking insulin or SU medications should take care of supplementation.

People with diabetes who drive a car, etc. may have low blood sugar while driving, which can lead to accidents, so keep glucose and foods high in glucose in the car. Also, people who cannot control their blood sugar by themselves due to unconscious hypoglycemia should avoid driving.

If you feel low blood sugar while driving, flash the hazard lamp and quickly stop the car on the shoulder to eat food containing glucose. Resuming driving should be done only after symptoms have improved. If you are prone to hypoglycemia, drive after eating foods containing sugar. In case of an emergency, we recommend that you carry a diabetic ID card (emergency contact card) in your wallet, etc. to indicate that you are diabetic.

organize

Through your own experience of developing hypoglycemia, let's know in what cases hypoglycemia is likely to occur, and devise ways to prevent hypoglycemia. It's also important to note that you talk to your doctor regularly about your diet or amount of medication.