Diabetes: Preventing high blood sugar emergencies
What is a high blood sugar emergency?
High blood sugar
High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) means that the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood is above your target range. Symptoms of high blood sugar usually develop over a period of hours or days.
You may feel tired and thirsty when your blood sugar is well above your target range. However, some people's bodies adjust to a high level. They may not have obvious symptoms of high blood sugar until their levels are very high. Therefore, it is important to check your blood sugar often.
- If your blood sugar is between 80 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) and 200 mg/dL, you most likely will not have symptoms. If you do have symptoms, they will most likely be very mild (such as fatigue).
- If your blood sugar is between 200 mg/dL and 350 mg/dL, you may have mild symptoms of high blood sugar. You may be thirsty and urinate more often than usual. Some people may not notice any symptoms when their blood sugar is in this range.
- If your blood sugar rises above 350 mg/dL, you may feel weak and drowsy, have blurred vision, and sometimes you may lose your appetite. You may not have these symptoms if your body gets used to the higher blood sugar levels.
- If your blood sugar becomes very high, you can become confused, severely dehydrated, and go into a coma. Very high blood sugar leads to changes in the chemical processes of the body (metabolism), causing an emergency.
What causes high blood sugar?
High blood sugar develops when there is too little insulin or when your body fails to respond properly to the insulin in your blood. High blood sugar emergencies often develop because of some underlying condition that may not be obvious, such as a heart attack, infection, surgery, or pregnancy.
Your blood sugar can rise to an unsafe level when you:
- Skip a dose of your pills for diabetes, or you skip a dose of insulin (if you take insulin).
- Eat too much food.
- Do not get enough exercise.
- Feel a lot of stress.
- Are sick (such as a severe case of the flu) or have an infection, even if you are not eating a lot of food.
- Take medications that can raise your blood sugar.
Sometimes, you may have very high blood sugar in the morning. This can be caused by the dawn phenomenon or the Somogyi effect.
Test Your Knowledge
High blood sugar means that the amount of sugar in my blood is above my target range.
Symptoms of high blood sugar include hunger, nervousness, and sweating.
A high blood sugar emergency occurs when the blood sugar level rises high enough to lead to severe dehydration and certain changes in the chemical processes of the body (metabolism).
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Why do I need to treat high blood sugar?
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| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: September 24, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism | |
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