Blood sugar levels can be low but can also be too high. If it is too high then one should drink a lot and call the doctor, but if it is too low then sugar should be taken. Low blood sugar can be caused by not eating enough or on time, not taking the right medications on time, drinking too much alcohol, drinking alcohol in combination with blood sugar lowering tablets, taking too many tablets or insulin, and more physical activity than normal.
What is Blood Sugar?
To understand what low blood sugar is, it is helpful to know what blood sugar is in the first place. Blood sugar levels depend on the amount of glucose in your body. Your body extracts blood sugar from your food and some of it then enters the blood. The body can regulate this just fine, but it can happen that the blood sugar is nevertheless dysregulated and is, for example, too high or too low. We speak of a normal blood sugar when it has between 4,0 mmol / l and 8,0 mmol / l of glucose.
The symptoms of low blood sugar
The symptoms that occur with low blood sugar are diverse. This may include sweating, feeling hungry, yawning, dizziness, confusion, palpitations, trembling, tingling in the hands, restlessness, blurred or double vision and having a headache. Having a fluctuating mood is also part of low blood sugar. If blood sugar is too low then a person may feel drowsy or even may lose consciousness.
What to do if the blood sugar is too low?
If blood sugar levels are too low then you can do the following:
- Take a few tablets of dextrose
- Have a glass of sugary soda
- Dissolve one full spoonful of sugar in water and drink it
- Do you have any doubts? Then have some sugar
Prevent low blood sugar
To avoid low blood sugar, it is important to eat on time, the advice is to eat at regular times. If someone is going to exert themselves more than usual then it is important to eat something extra half an hour beforehand, for example a sandwich. If medication must be used, then do so on time. It is important to always have dextrose or sugar cubes on hand so that low blood sugar can be prevented.
Contact the doctor if your blood sugar is too low
If blood sugar is too low, an appointment can always be made with the family doctor. This is done when the glucose level is not below 10 mmol/l and will not drop. If an inflammation or infection is present then consultation with the family doctor is always necessary, but also when there is diarrhea, fever and vomiting.
You can also contact the family doctor's office on the weekends if low blood sugar does not improve. A call should be made immediately if a person becomes drowsy, has difficulty breathing, becomes confused, shakes, yawns or sweats, and if taking sugar does not help. When becoming restless and getting headaches that don't go away and involving double vision, it's a good idea to get in touch with the family doctor's office. It is important that a person does not get too worked up because then dizziness and fainting can also occur, which must be prevented. So always call in a calm manner so that the complaints are also clearly conveyed to the doctor/assistant.