What Is Hypoglycaemia

The most important fuel of the body is glucose; it is a type of sugar. Sugar is released when the food is digested. This sugar ends up in blood as glucose. Our body especially brain and nerves need a certain amount of glucose for functioning. If the blood glucose level is not as required then the body will react by depicting different signs and symptoms. Hypoglycaemia onsets when the blood sugar level falls below a certain level. It is a serious health condition. Most commonly it is termed as insulin shock by the sufferers. The people with diabetes may suffer from hypoglycaemia if they skip their meals or take an excessive insulin dose. What Are Signs And Symptoms of Hypoglycaemia? The symptoms of hypoglycaemia start to onset when the body release an extra amount of adrenaline. This is a hormone that increases the blood sugar level for protecting against hypoglycaemia. High level of adrenaline in blood makes the skin sweaty as well as pale. Sometimes it causes symptoms like anxiety, shakiness and pounding heartbeat. Some symptoms of hypoglycaemia set in when insufficient glucose gets in the brain. This is because brain is that body organ that suffers the most and first because of the drop in blood sugar. The symptoms of hypoglycaemia include extreme hunger, headache, double or blurry vision, weakness and fatigue. If the initial signs of hypoglycaemia are ignored and the blood sugar level falls further it may result in confusion, loss of consciousness and seizures. Who Gets Hypoglycaemia? Unfortunately all teenagers suffering from type 1 diabetes get hypoglycaemia attacks from time to time. Insulin helps the sugar to enter in the body cells where it is used for the production of energy. Type 1 diabetic patient if take excessive insulin or doesn't eat enough to balance the effect of insulin dose, may experience low blood sugar. Overdose of something like alcohol or certain medications like diabetic medications or insulin also cause even healthy people to suffer from hypoglycaemia. People suffering from certain types of cancer may also develop hypoglycaemia. There are some genetic types of hypoglycaemia as well. The symptoms of genetic hypoglycaemia are severe and start to develop at an infant stage. Though hypoglycaemia occur rarely still it is important to think about it. The reason is that symptoms of hypoglycaemia overlap with the signs and symptoms of many other illnesses. It is completely normal to feel tired or fatigued or have headache after a stressful day. Likewise drinking plenty of coffee or any other form of caffeine can make the person feel jittery or shaky. Further all people react differently to eating plenty of sugars. Sometimes the rapid rise and fall of blood glucose level can also trigger symptoms of hypoglycaemia. Though the blood glucose levels are still in the required range How To Diagnose Hypoglycaemia? When a doctor suspects that a person is suffering from hypoglycaemia he will ask the medical history of the patient, the timing of the meals and timing of the symptoms. This information will help them to diagnose whether the signs of low blood sugar go away soon after eating meals. The only certain way of diagnosing whether the symptoms are related to hypoglycaemia is by checking blood glucose levels. If low blood sugar is detected in the test then it requires further testing to find out the cause that is triggering hypoglycaemia. How To Treat Hypoglycaemia? The treatment of hypoglycaemia varies with the cause. If symptoms of hypoglycaemia are seen in an otherwise healthy person then the doctor may prescribe a diet that is lower in simple sugars and reduce the intake of caffeine. If the hypoglycaemia is caused because of any other disease then doctor will prescribe the medicine or the ways to treat that disease.