What should be done for someone experiencing a diabetic episode that you are unsure is high or low?
If you are unsure whether the patient has low or high blood sugar, give them a drink containing sugar (DO NOT use ‘diet’ soft drinks, eg Coke Zero, Pepsi Max). Giving any form of sugar can save a patient’s life if blood sugar is low, and will not cause undue harm if blood sugar is high.
What should you do if you are not sure if someone has hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia?
In most cases, non-severe hypoglycemia can be treated by taking glucose followed by slower acting carbohydrate such as bread or fruit. To prevent hypoglycemia developing into a more serious situation, make sure you have hypo treatments available at all times.
How can you tell if someone’s blood sugar is low?
Early signs of a low blood sugar level include:
- sweating.
- feeling tired.
- dizziness.
- feeling hungry.
- tingling lips.
- feeling shaky or trembling.
- a fast or pounding heartbeat (palpitations)
- becoming easily irritated, tearful, anxious or moody.
When in doubt if a casualty has low or high blood sugar What do you treat for?
If a casualty is conscious and signs suggest low blood sugar:
- Give them sugary drinks or foods in 15 minute intervals until they recover or medical assistance arrives.
- Seek medical assistance if required.
What to do if someone has low blood sugar?
If you’re not sure whether someone has high or low blood sugar, give them something sugary anyway, as this will quickly relieve low blood sugar and is unlikely to do harm in cases of high blood sugar. If they don’t improve quickly, call 999 or 112 for medical help.
When to know if your blood sugar is low or high?
For example, if your blood sugar level has been higher than 300 mg/dL for a week or so and the level drops suddenly to 100 mg/dL, you may have symptoms of low blood sugar even though your blood sugar is in the target range.
When to give sugar to someone with hyperglycemia?
View All. First aid manuals say to give sugar to any confused person with diabetes. But you wouldn’t know without blood testing whether they were having an episode of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) or high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). Giving sugar will help the person with low blood sugar get through their crisis.
What should I do if I have a high sugar attack?
Well, if it happens that you are facing a high sugar attack the immediate step is to drink lots of water. It will dilute the blood level thereby saving form a further deterioration. Then you may take medication and come back to normalcy. Extremely high blood sugar might lead to a cardiac arrest in some cases.
What to do if your blood sugar is too high?
Diabetes can become serious in the short term if blood sugar levels become either too high or too low. The following information details what to do in an emergency. This covers low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), very high blood sugar (diabetic ketoacidosis) and what to do if you are left without your diabetes medication and/or supplies.
For example, if your blood sugar level has been higher than 300 mg/dL for a week or so and the level drops suddenly to 100 mg/dL, you may have symptoms of low blood sugar even though your blood sugar is in the target range.
When do you need medical care for low blood sugar?
Anytime your blood sugar drops below 50 mg/dL, you should act whether you have symptoms or not. If your blood sugar level drops very low (usually below 20 mg/dL), you may lose consciousness or have a seizure. If you have symptoms of severe low blood sugar, you need medical care immediately.
What’s the difference between normal and high blood sugar?
Your blood sugar level can either be low, normal or high. Depending on what you eat and health conditions, it will vary from person to person. Here is a breakdown of how your blood sugar works and how low or high blood sugar levels happens: