Every now and again, diabetics experience episodes of hyperglycemia. These spikes in blood sugar levels are a consequence of the disease, but they can also do damage to the body. Eventually, hyperglycemia leads to issues, like diabetic neuropathy, and a breakdown in health. For type one diabetics, untreated hyperglycemia can trigger life-threatening ketoacidosis, during which toxic ketones build up in the blood.
Thankfully, you can deal with and treat hyperglycemia when it occurs to quickly get your blood sugar levels back under control.
Dealing With Hyperglycemia
The first steps to fight hyperglycemia are to stop eating as much and to lower your carbohydrate intake. Try to maintain a consistent diet and avoid overeating at meal times. Although, everyone knows that this is difficult to do all the time!
You may also be able to burn off some of that glucose by exercising. However, it is only safe to attempt this when you don’t have ketones in your blood. These acids are the by-products of the body burning fat to fuel its cells because it can’t use the glucose in your bloodstream.
If you’ve checked your blood glucose levels and found them to be above 240 mg/dl, you should also check your urine for the presence of ketones. If there are ketones present, then don’t exercise, as this can have an opposite effect to what is intended and actually raise your glucose higher.
Taking Medication
If you are type one diabetic or otherwise taking insulin, you might need an injection to counter elevated levels in the short-term. It’s usually recommended that you take insulin about 15 to 30 minutes before a meal. However, if you eat more than expected or theinsulin doesn’t take effect, you may need another shot. Wait 15 minutes after taking the insulin to check your blood sugar levels again.
If your levels remain high, you may want to wait a bit longer and check your blood a third time. Taking a third injection may be necessary after this, but you want to be very careful of taking too much insulin. The medication can have a delayed effect and leave you with hypoglycemia that also needs to be corrected.
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[expand title=”References“]
Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose). URL Link. Accessed October 8, 2017.
Hyperglycemia: When Your Blood Glucose Level Goes Too High. URL Link. Accessed October 8, 2017.
Diabetes: How to Use Insulin. URL Link. Accessed October 8, 2017.
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