Blood sugar levels, or blood glucose, provides the energy you need to perform, play, or even think properly. It is constantly circulating throughout your body. Blood sugar is produced by the meals you consume.
Insulin is a hormone that helps transfer sugar from your circulation into your body’s cells, where it is used for vitality. However, if your blood sugar levels fall too low, you may have a variety of symptoms, some of which are very dangerous.
Knowing what to do if your blood sugar levels fall too low will help you stay safe. In this post, we’ll look at the items that can quickly boost your blood sugar, as well as various ways to lower your blood sugar.
What are the signs and symptoms of a low blood sugar level?
Low blood sugar symptoms vary from one person to the next and even from one occurrence to the next. When your blood sugar drops, you may have certain symptoms the very first time and various signs the next time.
The following are the most typical mild to strong symptoms of low blood sugar:
- Jitters or tremors
- Sweating
- Chills
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Irritability
- Anxiousness
- Sleepiness
After repeated instances of low blood sugar, a syndrome known as hypoglycemia unawareness can develop. Since the body becomes accustomed to low blood sugar, symptoms become more difficult to detect.
Hypoglycemia ignorance is dangerous because it limits the ability to address low blood sugar and raises the chances of severe hypoglycemia.
What causes low blood sugar levels?
A drop in your blood sugar levels is influenced by a lot of circumstances. Some of the most likely reasons are below.
Food and beverage
Anyone can experience a dip in blood sugar if they skip meals or go too long without eating or snacking. Other foods and drink-related causes include:
- Drinking alcohol without eating enough food.
- Consuming insufficient carbohydrates during the day
- Not eating for several hours after waking up.
Physical exercise
Blood sugar levels can drop by exercising more or tougher than normal. Make sure your blood sugar level doesn’t dip too low after a particularly challenging activity by:
- Immediately after your activity
- Consume items high in simple carbohydrates, such as fresh fruit, chocolate pudding, or hard fruit candies, rather than waiting too long to have a full meal.
Insulin
You may need synthetic insulin if you have diabetes. Insulin usage can cause hypoglycemia in some people. The combination of insulin with other medicines, such as sulfonylureas and meglitinides, can cause your body to react differently to insulin if you take too much of it.
Health conditions
Various medical disorders affect blood sugar levels, including:
- Other eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa.
- Hepatitis and other liver diseases can impair the way your liver manufactures and releases glucose.
- Abnormalities of the pituitary gland can impact the release of hormones that regulate glucose uptake
- pituitary dysfunction.
- Kidney disease affects the removal of waste materials from the body, including medications.
- Insulinoma, a pancreatic insulin-producing tumor, is a type of advanced cancer.
- Getting too much diabetes medicine by accident (insulin or sulfonylureas).
What foods can help you raise your blood sugar quickly?
Because your blood sugar derives from the meals and beverages you ingest, having a quick snack is one of the quickest methods to elevate your blood sugar.
If your blood sugar falls below 70 mg/dl, the American Diabetes Association recommends following the 15-15 rule: Eat at least 15 grams of carbohydrates, then monitor your blood sugar after 15 minutes.
However, if your blood sugar levels are still below 70 mg/dl, eat another 15 grams of carbs, wait 15 minutes, and recheck them. If your blood sugar level is below the desired level, foods high in protein or fat, such as peanut butter, desserts, and chocolate, may assist.
These higher-fat foods take longer to absorb into your system, as do whole-grain bread as well as other high-fiber foods. As a result, these foods will not spike your blood sugar as quickly as foods rich in simple carbohydrates.
Is it possible to elevate blood sugar levels without eating?
Glucose gel and oral glucose pills are two other medications that can swiftly raise blood sugar. They’re available over the counter and are indicated for persons who have low blood sugar on a routine basis.
If you’ve ever experienced extreme low blood sugar symptoms, consult your doctor to see if a glucagon kit is good for you. The hormone glucagon causes your liver to produce glucose in your bloodstream.
These kits can only be obtained with a prescription. They’re used to raise blood sugar levels when you can’t eat or drink, such as when you’re asleep. As a result, this drug is usually administered by someone else, such as a friend or family member.
When should you seek medical help?
If your blood sugar lowers and you experience severe symptoms like seizures or loss of consciousness, you should seek medical help right once.
If you have hyperglycemia and your blood glucose dips, and the standard quick-fix remedies don’t help you raise your blood sugar beyond 70 mg/dl, you should seek medical advice right away.
Taking far too much long-acting insulin or similar drug diabetes tablets is more likely to cause this. Also, if you don’t have diabetes but are experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia that don’t go away or worsen after eating at least 15 grams of carbohydrates, get medical attention.
Conclusion
To conclude, low blood sugar is a temporary problem that can be caused by skipping meals or not eating enough. It’s generally safe, especially if you can immediately elevate your blood sugar with a snack.
A reduction in blood sugar can link to diabetes or even other underlying health issues. If your condition is severe, or if eating a meal does not help or helps you feel worse, seek medical care right away.
If you believe your blood sugar is out of control, your doctor can help you raise your level using glucose dextrose powder. Also, a doctor can determine if there is a treatment plan that could help you maintain a healthy blood sugar level.
