Diabetes-Related High and Low Blood Sugar Levels

Home Treatment

When you have diabetes, whether it is type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or gestational diabetes, one of the most important skills you will learn is how to manage your blood sugar level. Following your health professional's instructions on the use of insulin or diabetes medicines, diet, and exercise will help you avoid blood sugar problems. You will learn to recognize the symptoms and distinguish between high and low blood sugar levels. It may be difficult for a parent of a young child to distinguish the difference between high and low blood sugar symptoms in a child.

Learn the symptoms of high and low blood sugar levels.

• Symptoms of high blood sugar levels
• Symptoms of low blood sugar levels

Once you have learned to recognize high or low blood sugar levels, you can take the appropriate steps to bring your blood sugar level back to target blood sugar levels.

People who keep their blood sugar levels under control with diet, exercise, or oral diabetes medicines are less likely to have problems with high or low blood sugar levels.

Learn how to deal with high blood sugar levels. Be sure to know how fast your insulin medicine will work to bring your blood sugar down. Some insulins work very fast while regular insulin takes a little longer to bring the sugar level down. Knowing how fast your insulin works will keep you from using too much too quickly.

• Steps for dealing with high blood sugar in a child
• Steps for dealing with high blood sugar in an adult

Learn how to deal with low blood sugar levels. Because you have diabetes and can have low blood sugar levels, you need to keep some type of food with you at all times that can quickly raise your blood sugar level. These should be quick-sugar foods (about 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrate) that puts glucose into your bloodstream in about 5 minutes. Any quick-sugar food on this list will raise your blood sugar about 30 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) in about 15 to 20 minutes. Be sure to check your blood sugar level again 15 minutes after eating a quick-sugar (carbohydrate) food to make sure your level is getting back to a safe range. When your blood sugar gets to 70 mg/dL or higher, you can eat your normal meals and snacks.

Quick-sugar foods

Food	Amount
Table sugar	1 tablespoon
Fruit juice or regular soda pop	½ cup
Fat-free milk	1 cup
Honey or corn syrup	1 tablespoon
Jam	2 tablespoons
Raisins	2 tablespoons
Gumdrops	17 small
Life Savers candy	8 pieces
Hard candy	3 pieces
Glucose tablets	3 tablets
Glucose gel	½ tube

It is important to know that sugar foods like a candy bar or ice cream do not help raise low blood sugar levels quickly because these foods also have fat and protein. So the body cannot use the sugar (carbohydrate) in these foods quickly to raise the blood sugar level.

• Dealing with low blood sugar in a child who takes insulin
• Dealing with low blood sugar in a child who takes oral medicines
• Dealing with low blood sugar from insulin
• Dealing with low blood sugar from oral medicines
• Dealing with low blood sugar during gestational diabetes

Since low blood sugar levels can quickly become a medical emergency, it is important that you wear a bracelet or necklace or carry a card that says:

• I have diabetes.
• Emergency treatment is needed for a severe low blood sugar level.

If you have severe symptoms of low blood sugar, someone else may need to give you a shot of glucagon. If this occurs, be sure to call your health professional immediately to let him or her know this has happened.

Symptoms to Watch For During Home Treatment

Use the Check Your Symptoms section to evaluate your symptoms if any of the following occur during home treatment.

• Symptoms of high blood sugar develop.
• Symptoms of low blood sugar develop.
• Symptoms become more severe or frequent.

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Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS	Last Updated: November 18, 2006
Medical Review:	Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism
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