40 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • NOVEMBER 5, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
What you need to know to prepare
for a low blood sugar emergency
When Alejandra Marquez was 12 years
old, she suddenly started to scream during
an otherwise typical Sunday church
service. Th ere was a loud buzzing that
only she could hear, and she soon began
to have trouble standing.
“It sounded like a mosquito loudly
humming in my ear,” Marquez said. “It
was a terrifying fi rst episode, and I’ll
never forget it.”
Her parents called a local doctor, who
told them that Marquez immediately
needed sugar. She drank a soda as her
father drove her to the emergency room.
A week prior to this incident, Marquez
had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes,
but she and her parents were unprepared
for the potential dangers of hypoglycemia,
or low blood sugar.
What is hypoglycemia?
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is
a potentially dangerous condition that
occurs when a person’s blood sugar (glucose)
levels fall low enough that they need
to take immediate action. For people with
diabetes, low blood sugar usually happens
when blood sugar levels fall below 70
milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), though
some people have symptoms of low blood
sugar at higher levels.
“Low blood sugar is most common for
people with diabetes, especially those who
take medications that increase insulin levels
or otherwise lower blood sugar levels,”
said Javier Morales, M.D., an endocrinologist
and spokesperson for the American
Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
(AACE). “Everyone with diabetes, as well
as their friends and families, should be
familiar with this condition and be prepared.”
Low blood sugar causes approximately
100,000 emergency room visits per
year in the U.S. Th e potential risk of a low
blood sugar emergency can take an emotional
toll on people living with diabetes,
disrupting day-to-day tasks. A third
of adults with diabetes worry about driving
safely because of possible low blood
sugar episodes.
Get the lowdown on
low blood sugar
Marquez has lived with Type 1 diabetes
for over two decades and has experienced
several low blood sugar emergencies
since her fi rst episode as a child. As
an adult, she regularly volunteers with
DiabetesSisters, a U.S. nonprofi t that aims
to improve the quality of life for women
with diabetes and for those at risk.
“On that Sunday when I experienced
low blood sugar for the fi rst time,
I remember that I’d skipped breakfast,”
Marquez said. “I had also just begun diabetes
treatment. Part of being prepared
for a low blood sugar episode is knowing
these types of risks, as well as possible signals
that your blood sugar is low, so you
can act quickly.”
Risk factors for low blood sugar include
taking certain diabetes medications, eating
less than usual, age, excessive alcohol
consumption and increased exercise
without enough nutrition. Symptoms can
be mild, such as dizziness or unusual irritability,
or more severe and life-threatening,
such as seizures. Some people with
milder symptoms may have episodes that
go unnoticed, while others might have
more serious symptoms and need family
members or their support circles to be
prepared to help.
Be prepared for a low
blood sugar emergency
People with diabetes should speak to an
endocrinologist (a physician who specializes
in hormones and metabolism) about
blood glucose targets, treatment options
and how to prepare for a potential blood
sugar emergency, and then share this plan
with those close to them.
“It’s vital for people at risk to prepare
for an emergency, but it’s also important
that friends and family know how to act if
needed,” Morales said. “It’s possible for
someone with severe
low blood
sugar to
become confused or unconscious, so people
who are oft en around you also need to
know the steps to take.”
For milder emergencies, Morales advises
people to follow the Rule of 15, which
involves eating 15 grams of carbohydrates
or simple sugars and then rechecking
blood sugar levels aft er 15 minutes.
If blood sugar is still
low, the person should
have another serving.
Once blood sugar levels
are back to normal,
they can eat
a meal or snack
to make sure it
doesn’t lower
again.
For severe emergencies, a person may
need to administer emergency hypoglycemia
rescue therapy, which contains an
up-to-date prescription of glucagon in
any delivery format (e.g., injection or
nasal spray). Insulin should not be injected,
as it will lower a person’s blood sugar
even more.
People in an emergency situation
or those assisting them
should also seek medical care
or call for medical assistance,
if needed. Be sure
to tell the emergency
dispatcher if a person
has diabetes
and may be experiencing
severe
low blood sugar.
— Courtesy
of BPT
/WWW.QNS.COM
