Many diabetic patients focus all their attention on controlling high blood sugar, but in fact, this idea is one-sided. Blood sugar reduction is a double-edged sword, which will inevitably increase the risk of hypoglycemia, and in severe cases it can be life-threatening. When diabetic patients have symptoms such as palpitations, sweating, hunger, hand tremors, and pale complexion, they should absolutely stay in bed and quickly eat foods such as sucrose, honey, and juice to raise blood sugar as soon as possible.
What are the symptoms of hypoglycemia in diabetes?
Hypoglycemia refers to blood sugar levels below 2.8mmol/L in normal adults and below 3.9mmol/L in diabetic patients. Hypoglycemia is often manifested as palpitations, sweating, hunger, hand tremors, pale complexion, and even unconsciousness. Persistent hypoglycemia can cause transient or long-term brain dysfunction, and in severe cases, coma, which is hypoglycemic coma. Hypoglycemic coma is a common complication in diabetic patients.
Persistent and severe hypoglycemia can cause irreversible damage to brain cells or even death. Regardless of the cause of the hypoglycemia crisis, it must be treated urgently.
How to save yourself from hypoglycemia in diabetes?
After the symptoms of hypoglycemia appear, you should absolutely stay in bed and rest; and quickly eat sugary foods such as sucrose, honey, and fruit juice. These foods can be quickly absorbed into the blood by the intestines, thereby relieving the symptoms of hypoglycemia as soon as possible.
Monitor blood sugar every 15 minutes after eating sugary foods. If the blood sugar is still lower than 3.9mmol/L, you can take sugary foods again; if it is higher than 3.9mmol/L, you can eat starch or protein foods such as milk, bananas or sandwiches.
How to urgently treat patients in a coma due to hypoglycemia?
1. When facing a comatose patient, the rescuer should call the emergency number as soon as possible and inform the patient of his past medical history as much as possible, such as whether there is diabetes, cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease and other common diseases that may cause coma. Immediately let the patient lie flat with his head tilted to one side. Do not put pillows or other items under his head to ensure blood supply to the brain of the comatose person as much as possible.
2. While waiting for the arrival of emergency personnel, avoid moving the patient, and do not feed the patient water or medicine (those who are unconscious and cannot eat independently). Check the patient's mouth, remove oral secretions and foreign objects (such as dentures), and ensure that the airway is unobstructed to prevent suffocation.
3. Rescue hypoglycemia coma, rapid glucose supplementation is the key to determining the prognosis. Intravenous injection of 50% glucose or intravenous drip of 5%-10% glucose is the most common and effective method for hypoglycemia rescue.
How to prevent hypoglycemia coma?
1. Scientific medication. If diabetic patients need medication to lower blood sugar, they should start with a small dose and gradually increase the dose of hypoglycemic drugs, and do a good job of blood sugar monitoring.
2. Reasonable diet, do not over-diet. If other diseases cause loss of appetite and reduced food intake, the dose of hypoglycemic drugs should be reduced.
3. If hypoglycemia has occurred before, the blood sugar control target should be adjusted in time to avoid excessive hypoglycemia.
4. Avoid strenuous exercise on an empty stomach and drinking on an empty stomach.
