Endocrine » Diabetes

Hypoglycaemia in a diabetic patient

Hypoglycemia may occur as a complication of the treatment of diabetes but is not due to diabetes itself. Hypoglycaemia is a condition where the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood drops below a certain point - about 5 mg/ 100 ml. Hypoglycemia causes a number of symptoms such as dizziness, sweating and fatigue that usually disappear 10 to 15 minutes after eating sugar. Most patients will get some symptoms but in some, hypoglycaemia may be asymptomatic before sudden unconsciousness or convulsions - particularly in long term diabetics. Hypos can be caused by over-treatment, mismatched calorie intake vs demand and alcohol since it tends to lower the blood sugar. Elderly patients treated with insulin or sulphonylureas are more at risk. It can be prevented by monitoring blood sugar levels frequently.

In order to proceed further, you need to have an account on IDG.
Create a new account now

Registered users, you can login below to access this page.