If the blood glucose level drops below 4 mmol/L, it is called low blood glucose. Another name for this is hypoglycemia. In
type 2 diabetes, only children or teens taking insulin or oral medication to lower blood glucose are at risk for low blood
glucose. For those taking insulin, please refer to the section on low blood glucose in type 1 diabetes.
Hypoglycemia can be caused by not eating on time, eating too little, taking too much medication, getting more exercise than
usual, or drinking alcohol.
Symptoms
If blood glucose levels are low, your child or teen may feel light-headed, hungry, weak, nervous, or irritable. Her heart
rate may go up, or she may feel numbness or tingling in her tongue and/or lips. These are early symptoms of low blood glucose.
Sometimes levels drop too low, and the symptoms are more serious. If this happens, your child or teen may show “drunken-like”
behaviour such as slurred speech, staggering, or confusion. She may lose consciousness, or even have a seizure.
It’s important to treat low blood glucose right away.
Treating low blood glucose
For someone having early symptoms of blood glucose, the first thing to do is test blood glucose levels right away. If you
don’t have a meter, go ahead and treat the symptoms anyway:
Eat or drink 10-15 g of a fast-acting carbohydrate, such as:
-
2-3 dextrose tablets
-
1/2 cup (125 mL) of unsweetened juice or regular pop
-
8 Lifesavers or 5 hard candies
-
2 teaspoons (10 mL) of sugar
Wait 10 to 15 minutes for the sugar to take effect, then test the blood glucose again. If it is still low, treat again with
10 to 15 grams of carbohydrate. If the next meal is more than an hour away, or if your child or teen is going to be active,
have her eat a snack that has carbohydrate and protein.
Someone showing serious symptoms needs help right away. If your child or teen can’t eat or swallow sugar, she needs an injection
of glucagon. This is a hormone that makes the liver release sugar into the bloodstream.
