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Low Blood Sugar Symptoms |
Low Blood Sugar SymptomsLow blood sugar is less glucose or blood sugar level in the body than what is essentially required to produce the necessary fuel for the smooth functioning of the body.
It is also known as hypoglycemia (i.e. hypo – less, gly – glucose, cemia – in the blood). The amount of 60 mg/dL or lower is considered to be low blood sugar level.
The level of 50 mg/dL or below can hamper the functioning of the brain.
Low blood sugar occurs due to excessive insulin intake in case of diabetic patients, excess diabetes medicines like meglitinides or sulfonylureas, cancer treatments (chemotherapy, drugs). It is also caused due to irregular meals, eating insufficiently during meals, over-exertion/ overdoing exercises, alcohol consumption, infections that are acute and severe, certain medicines such as bactrim, pentamidine, etc., liver failure, kidney failure, insufficient adrenaline production.
The low blood sugar symptoms are sweating, trembling, nervousness, palpitations of the heart, anxiety, uneasiness, irritability, disturbed or hampered vision, hunger, tiredness.
There may be severe carving for sweets because the levels of sugar are low in the blood. Care should be taken not to take chocolates, sweets or any such extremely sweet items since it may then lead to hyperglycemia. It may even lead to a worried feeling in a person if the food is not to be taken for hours together.
Low blood sugar level also affects the brain if it falls upto 50 mg/dL. Since glucose doesn’t reach the brain, it causes the following low blood sugar symptoms such as headache, absent-mindedness, and difficulty in thinking. The ability to concentrate or focus on a particular thing gets hampered.
The person becomes impatient, restless, and irritable. There may be sexual disturbances and the person may be in a confused state of mind. Depression state may occur.
In severe cases, it may also lead to seizures, coma condition or even sudden death.
If you suffer from any of these low blood sugar symptoms, like dizziness, weakness, fatigue; drink a glass of milk, fruit juice, and soda or eat candies, a spoon of sugar, cheese, etc. It is beneficial to purchase a glucometer and constantly monitor the blood sugar levels at home. If the blood sugar level is less than 70 mg/dL, consume carbohydrates (sugar, honey, soda, candies, glucose tablets, milk, cheese) little by little and check the glucose level at regular intervals. Milk is considered to be better than fruit juices since it has lactose, proteins and fats that keep the glucose levels in the body steady for sufficient time. Diabetics who may have taken excess insulin can be given orange juice with sugar if they have hypoglycemia. In severe cases, doctors may recommend glucagon to be injected in the body, which help the liver to release glucose.
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