Translations:Hypoglycemia/1/en
Medical condition
| Hypoglycemia | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Hypoglycaemia, hypoglycæmia, low blood glucose, low blood sugar |
 | |
| Glucose meter | |
| Specialty | Endocrinology |
| Symptoms | Headache, blurred vision, shakiness, dizziness, weakness, tiredness, sweating, clamminess, fast heart rate, pounding heartbeat, nervousness or anxiety, hunger, nausea, pins and needles sensation, difficulty talking, confusion, loss of consciousness, unusual behavior, lightheadedness, pale skin color, seizures, death |
| Usual onset | Rapid |
| Causes | Medications (insulin, glinides and sulfonylureas), sepsis, kidney failure, certain tumors, liver disease |
| Diagnostic method | Whipple's triad: Symptoms of hypoglycemia, serum blood glucose level <70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L), and resolution of symptoms when blood glucose returns to normal |
| Treatment | Eating foods high in simple sugars, dextrose, glucagon |
| Frequency | In type 1 diabetics, mild hypoglycemia occurs twice per week on average, and severe hypoglycemia occurs once per year. |
| Deaths | In type 1 diabetics, 6–10% will die of hypoglycemia. |
Hypoglycemia, also called low blood sugar, is a fall in blood sugar to levels below normal, typically below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Whipple's triad is used to properly identify hypoglycemic episodes. It is defined as blood glucose below 70 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L), symptoms associated with hypoglycemia, and resolution of symptoms when blood sugar returns to normal. Hypoglycemia may result in headache, tiredness, clumsiness, trouble talking, confusion, fast heart rate, sweating, shakiness, nervousness, hunger, loss of consciousness, seizures, or death.