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Blood sugar

High and low blood sugar

Definition of blood sugar

The concentration of sugar in the blood, specifically glucose in the body must be strictly regulated so that the main power source was easily accessible to all tissues, but at the same time, were not allocated together with urine. When the glucose in the body - it may manifest in elevated levels of glucose, called hyperglycemia, can be a low content - hypoglycemia.


Elevated sugar

Hyperglycemia called the high content in the blood plasma sugar. Increased blood sugar may look normal, at the time, as it will be a kind of adaptive reaction of the organism that provides the energy supply material to the tissues, when it is increased consumption - it may be increased muscular activity, fear, excitement, pain, etc. Such rises in blood sugar usually last a short time, is as has been explained previously, due to the load of the body.

If hyperglycemia continues for a long time with a sufficiently high glucose concentration at which the rate of release of sugar in the blood exceeds the rate at which the body has time to digest that it usually occurs due to diseases of the endocrine system. It can also have adverse effects that will be reflected in the form of lesions of the insular apparatus of the pancreas and excretion of glucose with urine.

Hyperglycemia, as already mentioned is the high sugar content in the blood when the release rate exceeds the speed of absorption of its body, which can cause severe damage to the metabolism together with excretion of toxic metabolic products, and then it can lead to poisoning of the whole organism.

Mild hyperglycemia, the body almost does not harm, and when the sugar exceeds greatly normal, the person begins to suffer from severe thirst, which is starting to drink a lot of fluids, frequent urination in which the urine is derived from the body sugar, in consequence of which the mucous membrane of the body becomes dry, as well as the skin. Severe hyperglycemia can lead to what will appear nausea, vomiting, a person becomes drowsy and lethargic, possible loss of consciousness, it is to mention earlyhyperglycemic coma, which can lead to death.

Generally, hyperglycemia is characteristic only for endocrine diseases such as diabetes, overactive thyroid gland, for diseases of the hypothalamus region of the brain that is responsible for all the work of the endocrine glands, in rare cases, it may be due to some liver diseases. With prolonged hyperglycemia, persistent begins a metabolic process that leads to a feeling of weakness, the immune system begins to falter, begin regular purulent inflammatory processes in the body, is a violation of sexual function and impaired blood flow to all tissues.

If the sugar is above 5.5 mmol/l (fasting) is hyperglycemia (elevated sugar). The diagnosis - diabetes

Figure

Prediabetes

Diabetes mellitus type 2

Blood glucose fasting mmol/l

5,5-7,0

above 7.0

Sugar after 1 and 2 hours after eating, mmol/l

7,0-11,0

above 11,0

Glycated hemoglobin, %

5,7-6,4

greater than 6.4

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Signs and symptoms of high blood sugar:

  • excessive thirst;

  • dry mouth;

  • frequent urge to urinate;
  • skin dry, itches;
  • foggy vision;
  • fatigue, drowsiness;
  • unexplained weight loss;
  • cuts heal poorly;
  • unpleasant sensations in the legs — tingling, goose bumps;
  • frequent infections and fungal diseases that are difficult to treat.
  • frequent and deep breathing;
  • the smell of acetone atbreath;
  • unstable emotional state.

Learn more: How to lower blood sugar?


Low sugar

Hypoglycemia low blood called the plasma blood sugar. It should be noted that hypoglycaemia occurs significantly less often in people healthy, rather than hyperglycemia. This happens due to improper power supply when the overvoltage of the insulin apparatus of the pancreas, in simple terms, when a person uses too much sugar in food, developed hypoglycemia. As the pancreas begins to work at its maximum capacity, starting to allocate more of insulin, glucose starts all assimilated by the tissues, which leads to hypoglycemia.

If sugar is below 3.3 mmol/l (fasting) is hypoglycemia (low sugar)

The reasons for the development. To develop a constant hypoglycemia can and for different diseases of the pancreas, which are associated with the growth of its tissues and cells that produce insulin, this can be a variety of the tumor. Constant hypoglycemia can also begin because of severe liver diseasein which there is a violation of the processes of absorption and sometimes emission of glycogen in the blood, and kidney disease, adrenal and hypothalamus may be the cause of hypoglycemia.

Symptoms. Symptoms of low sugar in humans is manifested in the form of severe weakness, sweating, tremor occurs in the hands, feet, whole body, palpitation of the heart, fear of death, while in humans, anxiety and mental disorders, a constant and strong hunger, then may be loss of consciousness. Such as person is called a hypoglycemic coma. A person suffering from or prone to this disease should always carry sweets, to be taken at the first sign of hypoglycemia.

Learn more: How to increase the blood sugar level when hypoglycemia?


The rate of sugar in the blood

In a healthy person, which is notsuffering from diabetes, normal sugar in blood is 3.3-5.5 mmol/l fasting. If the body cells cannot absorb the sugar that enters the blood in the digestion process, sugar level in the blood slowly but surely begins to rise. As it is already known that glucose is the main energy source. A person with insulin-dependent diabetes of the first type, the pancreas secretes virtually no insulin. In the second type of insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas secretes enough insulin, but it can not work as expected.

When cells do not receive enough energy, a person begins to feel fatigue and tire quickly. When the body tries to get rid of too high blood sugar and thereby to bring everything back to normal, begin to work harder than normal kidney, which people often run to the bathroom.

If sugar is elevated quite a long time, it can lead to complications due to excess blood glucose, the blood begins to thicken. And because thick blood is unable to pass through small blood vessels, this begins to suffer the entire body.

In order to get rid of these harmful factors, you need to normalize blood sugar. To normalize the sugar, people suffering from diabetes may combine several methods.

The main way is of course a healthy diet and regular monitoring of blood sugar. A healthy diet which is prescribed for diabetes, just the same as a healthy diet that is administered to any healthy person, just to maintain health.

3,3-5,5 mmol/l (fasting) is the norm.

In a human patient with diabetes mellitus sugar regulation of course can have a pretty wide range, than the sugar content in a healthy person. Of course, ideally, you should strive to only result in 3,3-5,5 mmol/L. to Achieve this result in practice, we can say almost impossible, for this reason, if a sick person the glucose level ranges from 4 to 10, and only rarely beyond these limits, the patient may be pleased with this result.

Having the level of glucose in the blood from 4 to 10, a person suffering from diabetes mellitus will suffer from serious complications more than 10 years. In order to always maintain this level of sugar in the blood, the person suffering from diabetes definitely need to buy a glucometer.

How to determine the exact level of blood sugar?

Usually to determine the level of blood glucose is appliedthe blood analysis on an empty stomach.

This method has several disadvantages:

  • It shows the glucose level only at this particular moment. You can every week to go to donate blood and sugar levels will always be different!

  • You can Wake up with high sugar levels, but if the clinic is far away, and you decide to walk in the fresh air for half an hour, it is likely that when you get to the clinic - you will have sugar already! Because fresh air is good reduce blood sugar levels. Or you can drink water in the morning, which will dilute the blood and sugar again will be reduced.

  • You may have already long been high blood sugar, but if you accidentally will drop (e.g. spending the weekend at the cottage as an employee), then sugar may come back to normal and this kind of analysis will show you that all you have right, but in reality it is not.

To date, the most accurate method of determining the level of sugar in the blood is analysis of glycated hemoglobin!

Glycated hemoglobin is a biochemical indicator of blood, which reflects average blood sugar over a long period (up to three months), in contrast to the measurement of blood glucose, which gives an idea about the blood glucose level only at the time of the study.

The level of glycated hemoglobin is not dependent on the time of day, physical activity, eating, prescribed drugs, emotional condition of the patient.

Analysis of glycated hemoglobin indicates the number of candied red blood cells and is reflected in the percent. Below is a table for comparison:

Glycated hemoglobin (HBA1C) The average blood glucose level (mmol/l)
4% 2,6
5% 4,5
6% 6,7
7% 8,3
8% 10,0
9% 11,6
10% 13,3
11% 15,0
12% 16,7

Since red blood cells live up to 120 days, this type of analysis is enough to do 1 every 4 months.