When temperatures begin rising, chances are you’ll wrestle to maintain your blood sugars inside a wholesome vary.
However does scorching climate truly make your blood sugars go low, or does it simply really feel that method?
This text will clarify the connection between scorching 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 may well 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 may happen in the event you’ve forgotten to eat or in the event you expertise hormonal modifications that will make your physique extra insulin delicate and susceptible 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 may want for the actions they do and the meals they eat. This may be difficult!
Experiencing low blood sugar ranges is frequent when you’ve got diabetes. It’s a part of on a regular basis life.
The typical individual with kind 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 intervals of fasting, consuming decrease carbohydrate meals, intensive train, and common hormonal modifications.
Nevertheless, you’re not as susceptible to low blood sugar ranges, and while 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 embody:
- Shakiness
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Confusion
- Sweating
- Fast coronary heart price
- Nervousness
- Starvation
- Hassle concentrating
- Irritability
The signs of extreme low blood sugar embody:
- Slurred speech
- Confused considering
- Unconsciousness
- Seizures
- Coma
- In uncommon cases, demise
Name 911 if somebody you recognize is experiencing severely low blood sugar.
Administer glucagon to assist stop coma and demise.
That is thought of a medical emergency that wants quick consideration {and professional} medical assist.
Does summer season warmth make blood sugars go low?
It might look like warmth and humidity make your blood sugars crash, however that can solely be doable when you’ve got lively insulin in your system.
Warmth can, nevertheless, trigger your blood vessels to dilate.
This will increase insulin absorption, resulting in decrease blood sugar ranges, and in some instances, a blood sugar crash.
You might 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 will additionally occur while you enter a scorching tub, sauna, take a scorching 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 stop low blood sugar episodes from taking place within the warmth.
You might not have the ability to stop all low blood sugars, however utilizing the next methods could assist:
- It’s best to remain out of the warmth and humidity throughout the hottest instances of the day
- Whenever you’re in scorching water, reminiscent of a scorching tub or bathe, ensure you wouldn’t have a whole lot 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 degree
- Drink loads of water so that you don’t get dehydrated
- At all times double-check the quantity of insulin you’re injecting twice earlier than you’re taking it
- Rely carbohydrates so you could 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 intently observe your blood sugar ranges and you’ll deal with low blood sugar earlier than it turns into harmful
- Keep away from ingesting alcohol, which is thought to trigger low blood sugar
- Preserve 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 degree. Nevertheless, some individuals are capable of perform usually with decrease blood sugars, whereas others can’t.
Something underneath 40 mg/dL is taken into account a severely-low blood sugar degree and places you at the next threat for seizures, diabetic coma, and demise.
This extreme low blood sugar requires quick therapy with fast-acting glucose (like orange juice or sugar), or injectable glucagon if the individual can’t chew or swallow.
Name 911 after administering glucagon if the individual has a low blood sugar underneath 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.
In case you’re capable of eat and drink, hold doing this till your blood sugar has risen.
Some examples of snacks which have 15 grams of carbohydrates embody:
- 4 ounces of juice or common soda
- One tablespoon of sugar, honey, or syrup
- Three to 4 glucose tablets
- One tube of glucose gel
Nevertheless, when you’ve got a whole lot of insulin in your system otherwise you’re unable to chew or swallow, that is when it’s best to 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 demise. That is uncommon, nevertheless it does occur.
Because of this it’s essential to deal with low blood sugars promptly earlier than they change into harmful.
At all times test your blood sugar earlier than, throughout, and after you eat and train—particularly throughout scorching climate and the summer season warmth.
How can I keep wholesome in the summertime warmth?
It’s doable to remain wholesome in the summertime warmth.
The next suggestions could assist:
- Keep hydrated by ingesting loads of water (being dehydrated will increase the probability that you just’ll expertise excessive blood sugar)
- At all times put on sunscreen
- Put on a hat
- Keep within the shade
- Monitor your blood sugar ranges, particularly earlier than, throughout, and after train
- Goal to train indoors, ideally in air-conditioning
- At all times carry emergency low snacks with you
- At all times carry glucagon with you
- Put on gentle, loose-fitting clothes that’s breathable
- Preserve your medicines, particularly insulin, in a cool place (by no means go away insulin in a scorching automotive)
- Preserve your diabetes provides, together with steady glucose screens (CGM) and insulin pump provides, in a cool, dry place
