Low blood sugar is a serious condition like high blood sugar, and sometimes, it could be a life-threatening condition if it isn’t managed rapidly.

Low blood sugar

Low blood sugar is when the sugar in the blood is lower than 70 mg/dL in people with diabetes and lower than 55 mg/dL in nondiabetic people.

Hypoglycemia is common in diabetic people who take insulin, especially type 1 diabetes.

Causes of low blood sugar

Causes of low blood sugar differ between people with and without diabetes.

Causes of hypoglycemia in diabetic people

• Taking a higher dose than usual of insulin, injecting the insulin in the muscles instead of the fat tissue, or not organizing the times of the insulin doses correctly.
• Taking a higher dose than usual of oral diabetes medications.
• Not organizing the times of the meals and skipping some of them.
• Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach.
• Being active more than usual.
• Not having balanced meals.

Cause of hypoglycemia in nondiabetic people

• Hypoglycemia after one or two hours of the meal without a clear reason, and this condition has been noticed in people who had undergone one of the bariatric surgeries.
• Long fasting and malnutrition.
• Excessive alcohol consumption.
• Certain medications, such as beta blockers.
• Certain health conditions, such as liver diseases, kidney failure, heart disease, and sepsis.
• Certain hormone deficiencies, such as adrenal hormones.
• Increased insulin secretion due to specific reasons, such as a tumor in the pancreas.

Symptoms of low blood sugar

The symptoms might differ between people, and they include the following:

• Shaking, weakness, and tiredness.
• Sweating and chills.
• Extreme hunger.
• Dizziness or lightheadedness.
• Headache.
• Heart arrhythmia.
• Anxiety, irritability, and confusion.
• Numbness and tingling in the tongue, lips, or cheeks.
• Paleness.
• Nausea.

In severe hypoglycemia, these symptoms appear:

• Slurred speech.
• Blurred vision.
• Loss of coordination and balance.
• During sleeping, restless sleep and nightmares.

Complications of low blood sugar

• Seizures.
• Loss of consciousness.
• Multiple organ failure.
• Permanent damage in the brain.
• Cardiac arrest.
• Coma.
• Death in some cases.

Diagnosis of low blood sugar

• In diabetic people, low blood sugar is diagnosed by measuring the blood sugar directly.
• In nondiabetic people, low blood sugar is diagnosed by specific tests in addition to asking about the symptoms and medical history.

Treatment of low blood sugar

• You must manage low blood sugar immediately when it occurs by giving fast sugar and monitoring the blood sugar until it’s back to the normal state, then eating a meal or snack.
• Severe low blood sugar is managed by giving glucose injections.

Prevention of low blood sugar

• In diabetic people: pay attention to the insulin dose and other diabetes medications, eat balanced meals, have several meals during the day, and avoid extreme exhaustion.
• In nondiabetic people, there isn’t a specific way to decrease the risk of hypoglycemia, but in general, avoid starvation and long fasting.