When temperatures begin rising, you could wrestle to maintain your blood sugars inside a wholesome vary.
However does sizzling climate really make your blood sugars go low, or does it simply really feel that approach?
This text will clarify the connection between sizzling climate and low blood sugar ranges.
What causes blood sugars to go low?
Taking insulin could make blood sugar ranges go low.
If this occurs, it could possibly imply that you just’ve taken an excessive amount of insulin for the meals you’ve eaten, otherwise you nonetheless have lively insulin in your system earlier than exercising.
Low blood sugar can even happen in the event you’ve forgotten to eat or in the event you expertise hormonal adjustments that will make your physique extra insulin delicate and liable to low blood sugar ranges.
When individuals with diabetes take insulin, it’s a fixed balancing act of figuring out how a lot insulin they’ll want for the actions they do and the meals they eat. This may be difficult!
Experiencing low blood sugar ranges is frequent if in case you have diabetes. It’s a part of on a regular basis life.
The common individual with sort 1 diabetes experiences two episodes of low blood sugar per week.
If you don’t take insulin exogenously in your diabetes administration, you should still expertise low blood sugar ranges from durations of fasting, consuming decrease carbohydrate meals, intensive train, and common hormonal adjustments.
Nonetheless, you’re not as liable to low blood sugar ranges, and whenever you do expertise low blood sugar, they’re much less more likely to be extreme.
What are the signs of low blood sugar?
It’s important to know the indicators and signs of low blood sugar ranges. These embrace:
- Shakiness
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Sweating
- Fast coronary heart fee
- Nervousness
- Starvation
- Bother concentrating
- Irritability
The signs of extreme low blood sugar embrace:
- Slurred speech
- Confused pondering
- Unconsciousness
- Seizures
- Coma
- In uncommon situations, loss of life
Name 911 if somebody you understand is experiencing severely low blood sugar.
Administer glucagon to assist forestall coma and loss of life.
That is thought-about a medical emergency that wants quick consideration {and professional} medical assist.
Does summer time warmth make blood sugars go low?
It could look like warmth and humidity make your blood sugars crash, however that can solely be doable if in case you have lively insulin in your system.
Warmth can, nonetheless, trigger your blood vessels to dilate.
This will increase insulin absorption, resulting in decrease blood sugar ranges, and in some circumstances, a blood sugar crash.
It’s possible you’ll be extra more likely to expertise low blood sugar ranges in the event you’re outdoors within the warmth and humidity with lively insulin on board.
This may additionally occur whenever you enter a sizzling tub, sauna, take a sizzling bathe, or when your physique temperature rises from train.
Stopping low blood sugar within the warmth
There are a number of key methods to assist forestall low blood sugar episodes from occurring within the warmth.
It’s possible you’ll not be capable to forestall all low blood sugars, however utilizing the next methods might assist:
- It’s best to remain out of the warmth and humidity in the course of the hottest occasions of the day
- Whenever you’re in sizzling water, resembling a sizzling tub or bathe, be sure you shouldn’t have a number of insulin in your system
- Eat an additional snack earlier than going out into the warmth, ideally one thing with fats and protein to assist maintain your blood sugar stage
- Drink loads of water so that you don’t get dehydrated
- All the time double-check the quantity of insulin you’re injecting twice earlier than you are taking it
- Depend carbohydrates so you might have a greater sense of how your snacks and meals will have an effect on your blood sugar ranges
- Put on a steady glucose monitor that may carefully observe your blood sugar ranges and you may deal with low blood sugar earlier than it turns into harmful
- Keep away from ingesting alcohol, which is understood to trigger low blood sugar
- Hold an additional snack close by to deal with any emergency low blood sugar ranges and carry glucagon wherever you go
What’s dangerously low blood sugar?
Low blood sugar might be harmful at any stage. Nonetheless, some persons are in a position to operate usually with decrease blood sugars, whereas others can not.
Something beneath 40 mg/dL is taken into account a severely-low blood sugar stage and places you at a better threat for seizures, diabetic coma, and loss of life.
This extreme low blood sugar requires quick therapy with fast-acting glucose (like orange juice or sugar), or injectable glucagon if the individual can not chew or swallow.
Name 911 after administering glucagon if the individual has a low blood sugar beneath 40 mg/dL.
What do I do if I can’t get my blood sugar up?
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) advocate treating low blood sugar ranges with the 15-15 rule.
This entails consuming or ingesting 15 grams of carbohydrates and testing your blood sugar after quarter-hour to see if it has risen.
The CDC recommends repeating the method till your blood sugar is in a wholesome vary.
If you happen to’re in a position to eat and drink, preserve doing this till your blood sugar has risen.
Some examples of snacks which have 15 grams of carbohydrates embrace:
- 4 ounces of juice or common soda
- One tablespoon of sugar, honey, or syrup
- Three to 4 glucose tablets
- One tube of glucose gel
Nonetheless, if in case you have a number of insulin in your system otherwise you’re unable to chew or swallow, that is when you must administer emergency injectable glucagon and name 911 for medical assist.
Can low blood sugar be lethal?
Sadly, sure.
Many individuals who lose consciousness and fall right into a diabetic coma from low blood sugar expertise mind injury and typically loss of life. That is uncommon, however it does occur.
This is the reason it’s essential to deal with low blood sugars promptly earlier than they turn out to be harmful.
All the time test your blood sugar earlier than, throughout, and after you eat and train—particularly throughout sizzling climate and the summer time warmth.
How can I keep wholesome in the summertime warmth?
It’s doable to remain wholesome in the summertime warmth.
The next suggestions might assist:
- Keep hydrated by ingesting loads of water (being dehydrated will increase the probability that you just’ll expertise excessive blood sugar)
- All the time put on sunscreen
- Put on a hat
- Keep within the shade
- Monitor your blood sugar ranges, particularly earlier than, throughout, and after train
- Intention to train indoors, ideally in air-conditioning
- All the time carry emergency low snacks with you
- All the time carry glucagon with you
- Put on gentle, loose-fitting clothes that’s breathable
- Hold your medicines, particularly insulin, in a cool place (by no means go away insulin in a sizzling automotive)
- Hold your diabetes provides, together with steady glucose screens (CGM) and insulin pump provides, in a cool, dry place
