Glucose, a type of sugar, is the body’s main fuel. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugars, occurs when blood levels of glucose drop too low to fuel the body’s activity.

Carbohydrates ( sugars and starches) are the body’s main dietary sources of glucose. During digestion, the glucose is absorbed into the blood stream ( thus the term “blood sugar”), which carries it to each cell in the body. Unused glucose is stored in the liver as glycogen.

The ordinary range for blood sugars is about sixty mg/dL ( mg of glucose per deciliter of blood ) to 120 mg/dL, depending on when somebody last ate. In the fasting state, blood sugar can often fall below sixty mg/dL and even to below 50 mg/dL and not indicate a major aberration or disease. This can be seen in healthy women, particularly after prolonged fasting. Blood sugar levels below forty five mg/dL are almost always associated with a major abnormality.

The quantity of glucose in the blood is controlled mainly by the hormones insulin and glucagon. Too much or too little of these hormones may cause blood sugar levels to fall too low ( hypoglycemia ) or rise too high (hyperglycemia). Other hormones that influence blood sugar levels are cortisol, growth hormone, and catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine).

The pancreas, a gland in the higher stomach, produces insulin and glucagon. The pancreas is dotted with hormone-producing tissue called the islets of Langerhans, which contain alpha and beta cells. When blood sugars rises after a meal, the beta cells release insulin. The insulin helps glucose enter body cells, lowering blood levels of glucose to the ordinary range. When blood sugar drops too low, the alpha cells secrete glucagon. This signals the liver to release stored glycogen and change it back to glucose, raising blood sugar levels to the ordinary range. Muscles also store glycogen that may be converted to glucose.

A person with hypoglycemia may feel puny, sleepy, confused, hungry, and dizzy. Paleness, headache, bad temper, shaking, sweating, quick heart beat, and a cold, damp feeling are also appearances of low sugar levels. In severe cases, an individual can lose consciousness and even lapse into a coma.

The symptoms associated with hypoglycemia are often mistaken for symptoms due to conditions not related to blood sugar. As an instance, peculiar anxiety and anxiety and anxiety can cause excess production of catecholamines, leading to symptoms similar to those caused by hypoglycemia but having no relation to blood sugar levels.

The most typical reason for hypoglycemia is as a complication of diabetes. Diabetes occurs when the body can’t use glucose for fuel because either the pancreas is not able to make enough insulin or the insulin that is available isn’t effective. As a consequence, glucose builds up in the blood instead of getting into body cells.

The aim of treatment in diabetes is to lower high blood sugar levels. To do that, folks with diabetes may use insulin or oral drugs, relying on the kind of diabetes they have or the scale of their status. Hypoglycemia occurs most often in folk who use insulin to lower their blood sugar. All folk with type one diabetes and some folk with type two diabetes use insulin. Folks with type two diabetes who take oral drugs called sulfonylureas are also exposed to low blood sugar episodes.

People with diabetes should consult their health care suppliers for individual rules on target blood ranges that are best for them. The lowest safe blood sugar level for an individual varies, depending on the person’s age, medical problem, and ability to sense hypoglycemic symptoms. A target range that is safe for a young adult with no diabetes complications, for example, might be too low for a young kid or an older person who could have other medical problems.

Because they are attuned to the symptoms, folk with diabetes can generally recognize when their blood sugar levels are dropping too low. They can treat the condition quickly by eating or drinking something with sugar in it such as candy, juice, or nondiet soda. Taking glucose tablets or gels (available in drug stores ) is another convenient and quick way to treat hypoglycemia.

People with type one diabetes are most exposed to dreadful insulin reactions, which can cause loss of consciousness. A few patients with entrenched insulin-dependent diabetes may develop a condition known as hypoglycemia unawareness, in which they have problems spotting the indicators of low sugar. For emergency use in patients with type one diabetes, physicians regularly prescribe an injectable form of the hormone glucagon. A glucagon injection ( given by another person) quickly eases the symptoms of low sugar, releasing a burst of glucose into the blood.



Thanks to Lawrence Cole for contributing this article to our Diabetes blog:

Juvenile Diabetes Information