Hypoglycemia is a situation where the blood sugar is abnormally lower than normal. 70mm of sugar per 100cc of blood is the minimum considered to be normal; any value lower than it can lead to hypoglycemia. It affects both diabetics and non - diabetic but is more common in diabetics.

In diabetes, it is caused by too much or incorrectly timed insulin infusion. It is also caused by too much or incorrectly timed exercise. This is because, exercise reduces the quantity of insulin the body needs. Another cause of hypoglycemia is when you don't eat enough food especially those food containing carbohydrate.

When it occurs, the patient experiences some psychological and physical discomfort like shaky feeling, weakness, confusion, irritation, hunger and fatigue. He may also sweat and experience head ache.

When it happens to you, do one of the following;

* Take 3 or 4 glucose tablet.
* Take 1 serving of glucose gel. 1 serving is equal to 15 grams of carbohydrate.
* Drink 1 cup of milk.
* Drink ½ cup (4 ounces) of a non diet soft drink.
* Drink ½ cup (4 ounces) of any fruit juice.
* Take 5 or 6 piece of hard candy.

After 15 minutes, check your blood glucose. if it is too low, have another serving and surely, you will bounce back to normal. If not, repeat the process until you get to normal again i.e. blood glucose 70mg and above.

If hypoglycemia is not treated on time, it may lead to more severe complications like unconsciousness which leads to coma, seizures, brain damage and even death. For this reason, a diabetic is advised to carry around hypoglycemic treating substances like candies, glucose, sugar, honey, fruit juice and soft drinks listed above.


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