What causes low blood Sugar?

 Low blood sugar popularly known as hypoglycemia in medical science, is another health problem.  Basically, people suffering from diabetes or high blood sugar may experience low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, due to taking too much insulin or medicines and avoiding eating in time. So low blood sugar or hypoglycemia is common in people who have diabetes. But it is not true that low blood sugar does not occur in people who have no diabetes. In such a condition, we can treat someone by letting them consume fast-acting carbohydrates to raise blood sugar immediately to skip from a life-threatening situation. In this guide an humble attempt is made to understand the causes, symptoms, and treatment of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia.      

            

What is low blood sugar or hypoglycemia?     

  According to medical science, low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, is a medical condition in which your blood sugar (glucose) is lower than the normal or standard range. Glucose is the main energy source of our body. For many people, a fasting blood sugar of 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) below is considered an alert for low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. And this needs the immediate attention of a health care provider. Click  Of course, this range may vary from person to person. Immediate preliminary treatment involves getting your blood sugar quick to a normal range either with high-sugar food or drink or with medications. But it requires long-term treatment to identify the causes behind your low blood sugar.

Symptoms of Low blood Sugar or hypoglycemia

The following symptoms can be seen while someone’s blood sugar level becomes too low.

·       Sweating

·       Headache

·       Hunger or nausea

·       Fast or irregular heartbeat  

·       Fatigue

·       Irritability or anxiety

·       Dizziness or lightheadedness.    

·       Numbness of lip, tongue, or cheek  Click For details

Apart from all these, while low blood sugar worsens, other complicated symptoms like unusual or confuse behavior, blurry vision, and slurred speech occur, and sometimes a person may become unconscious. Click For Useful Resource    

Causes of Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia

Causes of low blood sugar can be discussed under two heads. One is caused by diabetes, and the other is caused by diabetes. 

Low blood Sugar with diabetes 

Low blood sugar in people with diabetes occurs due to excessive insulin or diabetic medication and unusual fasting. Some people with diabetes take more than the prescribed amount of insulin or medications and avoid meals and proper diet in time. Excessive medications and unusual fasting lower blood sugar levels to less than the normal or standard range. Sometimes, low blood sugar happens due to excessive physical activity also. Your blood sugar levels may become low if you do more physical exercise than you need or require. Click For More Resource

           

Low blood  sugar without diabetes 

 Low blood sugar in people without diabetes may occur due to certain reasons. First of all, a normal person’s blood sugar levels become low if he accidentally takes someone’s diabetes medicines. Sometimes, other medications for malaria, kidney failure, etc., can cause low blood sugar. For example, quinine (Qualaquin) taken for the treatment of malaria can lower blood sugar levels. Excessive alcohol drinking in an empty stomach is found to be one of the reasons for low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. Drinking alcohol without food keeps the liver from releasing its glycogen  stores in the bloodstream. This can lead to low blood sugar.  

Some critical illnesses, like liver cirrhosis, hepatitis, kidney failure,  advanced heart diseases, etc., also can cause hypoglycemia. This can affect glucose level due to the buildup of medications that cause low blood sugar levels. 

Malnutrition and long-term fasting  can be another strong reason for hypoglycemia. Sometimes, a rare tumor in the pancreas can cause the production of too much insulin, resulting in low blood sugar. 

       

 Low blood Sugar after a Meal

  Usually low blood sugar occurs when you are in an empty stomach or you have not eaten for a long time. But in rare cases, hypoglycemia may occur even after having a meal also. This type of hypoglycemia is called reactive hypoglycemia. This type of rare hypoglycemia happens in people with stomach bypass surgery or other surgeries. 

    

Final Thought 

Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can be treated easily. But untreated hypoglycemia should not be taken easily. Untreated hypoglycemia can lead to seizures, coma, or death also. Therefore, people who have diabetes should take their medications as prescribed. They should never take any medicine without prior consultation with health care providers. Click For Resource about blood sugar management.