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Hypoglycaemia
Pronounced hy-po-gly-SEE-mee-uh
Also known as Low blood sugar, Hypo, Hypoglycemia
Blood sugar that has fallen too low, usually below 70 mg/dL. It comes on within minutes and needs sugar immediately.
Hypoglycaemia is the main risk of diabetes treatment rather than of diabetes itself. It happens most often with or with sulfonylurea tablets, particularly when a meal is missed, delayed, or smaller than usual.
How to recognise it
- Shaking or trembling
- Sweating, often cold and sudden
- Hunger
- Fast heartbeat
- Confusion, difficulty concentrating, or unusual irritability
- Dizziness or weakness
What to do
- Take 15 grams of fast sugar — three teaspoons of sugar or honey, half a glass of regular juice or a regular soft drink.
- Wait 15 minutes and check again if you have a meter.
- If still low, repeat the sugar.
- Once recovered, eat a proper meal or a snack containing starch so it does not fall again.
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Related terms
- InsulinInsulin hormone, Insulin injectionInsulin is the hormone made by the pancreas that moves glucose out of the blood and into cells. As a medicine it replaces or supplements what the body cannot produce, and it is given by injection because stomach acid would destroy it.
- DiabetesDiabetes mellitus, SugarDiabetes is a condition in which blood glucose stays too high, either because the body makes too little insulin or because it has stopped responding to it. Pakistan has one of the highest rates in the world, and a large share of people with it do not yet know.
- HyperglycaemiaHigh blood sugar, HyperglycemiaBlood sugar that is too high. It builds up slowly and often causes thirst, frequent urination and tiredness.
- SulfonylureaGliclazide, GlimepirideA group of diabetes tablets that push the pancreas to release more insulin. Effective and cheap, but they can cause low blood sugar.
- Hypoglycaemia unawarenessImpaired awareness of hypoglycaemiaLosing the early warning symptoms of low blood sugar, so the first sign is confusion or collapse rather than shaking and sweating.