Why is hypoglycemia more fatal than hyperglycemia?
We often hear this sentence: High blood sugar costs money, low blood sugar costs life. This statement is not unreasonable. It points out in a concise and concise way that hypoglycemia has a great influence on health. Hypoglycemia is essentially lower than normal blood sugar levels caused by various reasons, leading to autonomic sympathetic nerve overexcitation and neurological dysfunction. Compared with “lingering” high blood sugar, hypoglycemia is often more rapid and more likely to cause serious consequences in a short period of time.
Three major causes of hypoglycemia
Some elderly diabetic patients with iatrogenic hypoglycemia have poor compliance, fail to monitor their blood sugar regularly, and do not adjust the dosage of hypoglycemic drugs or insulin in a timely manner, resulting in excessive hypoglycemia. In addition, elderly patients have reduced organ functions and even suffer from multiple illnesses. They need to take a large number of drugs every day, and some non-hyperglycemic drugs also play a role in lowering blood sugar.
Intake of too little and consumption of too much Eating too little and consuming too much can easily lead to hypoglycemia. For example, due to old age and frailty, dysphagia or anorexia, too little intake, exercise for too long or heavy physical labor leading to excessive consumption. big. Drinking large amounts of alcohol on an empty stomach may also cause severe hypoglycemia.
Liver and kidney disease Liver and kidney disease will affect the body’s “gluconeogenesis” function, hindering the body from converting non-sugar substances into glucose, destroying normal glucose metabolism, and thus causing low blood sugar.
What are the symptoms of hypoglycemia?
“One severe hypoglycemia and the resulting physical damage will offset the benefits of a lifetime of controlling high blood sugar.” Therefore, it is critical to quickly identify hypoglycemia and deal with it in a timely manner.
In the fasting state, the normal value of blood sugar is 3.9-6.1mmol/L. For non-diabetic patients, blood sugar ≤2.8mmol/L is considered hypoglycemia; for diabetic patients, blood sugar ≤3.9mmol/L is considered hypoglycemia.
The human body has varying degrees of response to low blood sugar, and generally does not wait until blood sugar drops below normal levels before issuing an alarm. Normally, when blood sugar drops to 4.6 mmol/L, people will feel “hungry”, prompting us to eat quickly; when blood sugar drops further to below 3.9 mmol/L, some people begin to experience palpitation, trembling, A series of symptoms of sympathetic nervous excitement such as nervousness, sweating, and pale face; when blood sugar drops below 2.8mmol/L, brain cells begin to be destroyed due to insufficient energy supply, resulting in dizziness, headache, unconsciousness, coma, etc. symptom. At this time, if you cannot replenish energy in time to raise blood sugar, it will be very dangerous.
If you experience hypoglycemia, eat these foods to raise blood sugar quickly.
Once hypoglycemia is diagnosed, you should promptly eat sugary foods to raise blood sugar to get out of danger. White sugar, sugar cubes, honey and glucose tablets are more easily absorbed into the bloodstream by the intestines and can raise blood sugar in a shorter time; secondly, you can choose biscuits, steamed buns, sugary drinks, white rice porridge, etc.; milk, ice cream, etc. can produce sugar faster Relatively slow.
After 15 minutes, the symptoms are still not relieved and the blood sugar is lower than 3.9 mmol/L. You can take sugar again. If the patient’s hypoglycemia has been relieved to some extent and the blood sugar has been measured to be higher than 3.9 mmol/L (>1 hour before the next meal), it is recommended to give food containing starch or protein.
If the patient is unconscious after fainting and cannot be woken up, do not feed blindly to avoid food being inhaled into the trachea and causing suffocation. You should immediately call 120 emergency number and send to the hospital emergency department for intravenous injection of 50% glucose injection, which can quickly bring blood sugar back to the normal range. If necessary, you can also consider injecting hydrocortisone and glucagon.
If it is pathological hypoglycemia, the primary disease should be treated promptly and head imaging examination should be further improved.
What you can do to prevent hypoglycemia
Healthy people should eat regularly and exercise moderately. Try not to lose weight just through dieting, and avoid excessive exercise.
People with a history of hypoglycemia are advised to carry sugary foods with them. When you feel hypoglycemia occurs, replenish sugar to your body in a timely manner.
Patients with diabetes or other diseases should follow the doctor’s instructions to use drugs on time and in the right amount, actively improve their living habits, and monitor blood sugar regularly. If any abnormalities occur during treatment, please seek medical attention promptly. Text/Wang Fang (Beijing Hospital)
