Hypoglycemia: warning signs

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Extract from the article: Hypoglycemia is defined as a drop in the level of sugar, i.e. glucose in the blood, with or without symptoms. When a blood test is done, the blood glucose level is below 0.6 grams per liter (g/l) or 3.3 mmol per liter. The threshold of perception of

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Hypoglycemia is defined as a drop in the level of sugar, i.e. glucose in the blood, with or without symptoms. When a blood test is done, the blood glucose level is below 0.6 grams per liter (g/l) or 3.3 mmol per liter. The threshold of perception of hypoglycemia through clinical manifestations is variable from one person to another. Hypoglycemia is a medical emergency that requires rapid correction. How to recognize its manifestations?

In the case of hypoglycemia, the symptoms evolve in three stages. The first stage is the early signs. This is what we call the signs of the adrenergic response. In case of hypoglycemia, the body will react by secreting hormones such as adrenaline and others to try to correct this hypoglycemia in an intrinsic way. The action of these hormones will generate the signs. The person may have palpitations with an accelerated heart rate (tachycardia), tremors in the extremities of the hands and feet, profuse sweating. He or she may also experience a painful hunger called craving, sometimes with abdominal cramps. If not corrected at this stage, the hypoglycemia will worsen and the patient will move to another stage which is the second stage.

In the second stage, signs of glucose deficiency in the brain cells called signs of neuroglucopenia appear. These signs are related to a cerebral suffering at the level of its cortical part. Glucose is the source of energy for the brain cells and in case of a drop in the glucose level, the person can present : intellectual disorders namely memory impairment, speech impairment with incoherent speech, or difficulty concentrating on an activity being performed, character disorders that are marked by irritability, aggressiveness or disinterest in everything that happens around him, sensory disorders such as olfactory hallucinations; he sees objects or scenes that do not exist or are not real, or diplopia, double vision. The patient may also have neurological disorders such as headaches, dizziness, paresthesias which are tingling sensations in the extremities of the hands, feet and around the mouth, or even paralysis of a limb or half of the body or hemiplegia.

The third stage is a worsening of the brain's suffering affecting the subcortical structure. This is the coma stage. This coma may occur suddenly or may be preceded by signs of the two stages that have gone unnoticed or poorly managed. The person in coma is often agitated and sometimes presents convulsions and profuse sweating.

William O.