Low blood sugar or hypolgycemia is a serious condition. Too much insulin, not enough food, and extreme exertion can cause hypoglycemia. Treatment is a process of steps that you need to follow carefully.

Levels

Normal blood sugar levels are 70 to 100 milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL. Levels below 70 are low blood sugar levels.

Dangers

For women, levels of 40 mg/dL or lower are dangerous. For men, the levels are 50 mg/dL or lower.

Results

When blood sugar levels fall below 70 mg/dL, mild symptoms occur such as dizziness or shakiness. When blood sugar levels drop to 40 or 50 mg/dL, you may feel confusion, weakness and even pass out.

Reasons

Insulin is used to move sugar from the blood to the blood cells. Too much insulin causes too little sugar in the blood. Food is needed to produce sugar, so too little food causes low sugar levels. Exercise uses sugar for energy.

Treatment

When symptoms occur, the diabetic needs to check the blood sugar and drink either juice or soda or eat sugar, honey, maple syrup, raisins or glucose tablets. If unresponsive, the diabetic needs a shot of glucagon.

Prevention/Solution

Diabetics need to eat regularly, take medication as directed and test blood sugar levels regularly.

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