How to respond when a diabetic has low blood sugar

November 4, 9:36 PMSF Fiftysomething Lifestyle ExaminerAmy Wachspress

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Blood sugar test kit

ScarletPeach at Flickr

Sometimes a diabetic accidentally overcompensates and takes too much insulin or doesn’t eat enough carbohydrates to utilize the insulin taken. The diabetic can become so disoriented that s/he is unable to correct the situation without help. If someone close to you is diabetic, you should know how to raise his or her blood sugar in the event of a low blood sugar attack.

The easiest and quickest way to raise a diabetic’s blood sugar is to give the diabetic orange juice. If s/he is still able to follow your directions and drink, you can provide juice in a glass; but it is often easier for the diabetic to drink from a straw. If you live with a diabetic, always have plenty of orange juice on hand. Also keep a supply of flexi straws. Other juice is also adequate if the person doesn’t like orange juice. It just needs to have a high sugar content. In some instances the diabetic is so far gone that s/he has difficulty sucking from the straw. For this situation, it is extremely helpful to have juice boxes because you can squeeze the box gently and the juice will squirt out of the straw. Be very careful not to squirt too much juice at one time into the person’s mouth as the diabetic may not be able to swallow more than a little bit at once. It may take you up to an hour and several juice boxes to get the diabetic’s blood sugar back up. Be patient. If s/he is swallowing juice, the blood sugar will gradually come back up.

If the diabetic is not too far gone, you can suggest that s/he eat something to bring the blood sugar back up. Raisins are excellent for this. A cookie, cereal bar, candy bar, or other quick sugar treat will usually do the trick too. But the diabetic must be able to sit up to eat so s/he doesn’t choke. If the diabetic is lying down, then the juice boxes are your best bet. Glucose tablets are available at the pharmacy and these will raise blood sugar quickly as well. You should have some on hand. These are also only helpful if the diabetic can sit up so s/he is not in danger of choking.

In some instances, the diabetic will be so far gone that it is impossible to get him/her to drink or eat anything. If this occurs, you have two options. One is to call for emergency assistance immediately. Do not hesitate. The other is to administer a shot of glucagon. Glucagon shots can be purchased with a doctor’s prescription. They are expensive (about $100 a shot), but if you live with a diabetic you should have one on hand. The instructions for how to administer the shot come with it and you should familiarize yourself with these and get training from your doctor if necessary so you know exactly how to use the shot. The glucagon shot causes the liver to dump stored energy in the form of sugar into the blood stream, which raises the level of blood sugars. Once this occurs, the diabetic will revive quickly and s/he must eat sugar immediately upon regaining awareness. The liver will no longer have any sugar to dump after this and so this method cannot be used again right away. The liver will need time to store more sugar. The glucagon shot must be administered in muscle or fatty tissue. The thigh is a good site, particularly since someone experiencing low blood sugar may flail their arms and damage the shot.

It is often difficult to determine if a diabetic is experiencing low blood sugar. Some of the warning signs include confusion, disorientation, unresponsiveness, passivity, lack of communication, personality change, and profuse sweating (cold and clammy). The diabetic may fall to the floor if seated, roll out of bed if lying down, or remaining one spot swaying if standing. The diabetic will often lose control of his/her body and may be unable to swallow, may urinate uncontrollably, may have no ability to hold something or use the hands. A diabetic may go into a comatose state because they are experiencing high blood sugar (not low blood sugar). You do not want to treat a diabetic for low blood sugar in this situation. Be sure to know the difference and call for emergency assistance if in doubt. Ask your doctor for more information about how to recognize a low blood sugar attack. If you live with a diabetic, learn how to use a blood sugar test kit to test his/her blood sugar level. A normal reading is 70-120. If the blood sugar is in the lower 60s or 50s then s/he is way too low.

Keep in mind that the individual experiencing the low blood sugar will likely not remember what happened while their sugar was low and will have no control over what they do or say until they begin to revive. For a diabetic, having low blood sugar is a surreal, unpleasant experience. Be patient and sympathetic. The diabetic is not being uncooperative on purpose during a low blood sugar attack.

Resources:

UCSF Diabetes Teaching Center Website

San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the American Diabetes Association
1900 Powell St. #110
Emeryville, 94608
510-654-4499
800-342-2383 (National Information Line)
510-654-7575 (FAX)
M-F: 8:30am-5pm