Symptoms of high blood sugar and how to deal with it

High blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) is a condition that is common in people with diabetes mellitus. However, people who appear fit and fit may also have it, including you. What's more, not everyone who turns out to have high blood sugar shows obvious signs and symptoms.

Therefore, everyone, whether you have diabetes, prediabetes, or even those who still feel healthy, should know well what the characteristics of high blood sugar are.

Various signs and symptoms of high blood sugar

Your blood contains not only oxygen, but also glucose. Glucose is a simple sugar that is formed from the breakdown of carbohydrates in food. Glucose will flow in the blood to every cell and tissue to be broken down into energy so that the body can carry out activities.

The limit for normal blood sugar levels is less than 100 mg / dL before meals and less than 140 mg / dl within 2 hours after meals.

Blood sugar levels may rise and fall depending on time, changes in body condition, or other triggers. In general, fluctuations in blood sugar levels are still considered reasonable if the numbers do not change very drastically.

The number of blood sugar levels that has jumped higher than the normal limit can indicate a condition of hyperglycemia. This condition can also be classified as prediabetes, or entering diabetes in its early stages.

Many people may still not be aware that having symptoms of high blood sugar can be harmful to their health. Here are common symptoms of high blood sugar that you need to be aware of:

1. Always feel thirsty and urinate frequently

The first sign of high blood sugar that you may notice at first is that you are thirsty quickly.

Thirst is a normal sensation, a sign that your body is dehydrated and you need fluids. However, fast thirst can be a symptom of high blood sugar if it doesn't go away even though you've been drinking a lot and drinking frequently.

Excess sugar in your blood normally gets flushed out with your urine every time you urinate. However, excess glucose will make urine thickened. So as a way to dilute thickened urine, the brain will send a "thirst" signal so that you drink quickly.

Meanwhile, because the blood sugar level is too much, you will automatically be "asked" to drink more. The more you drink, the more you urinate.

This symptom of high blood sugar also often occurs at night so that it interferes with sleep.

2. Feeling tired

Symptoms of high blood sugar that you need to watch out for in addition to constant thirst are fatigue. This happens due to the body feel lack of energy sources. In fact, it's not.

Sugar is the main source of energy in the body. If blood sugar is high, the body should have more energy. But in fact, the body is not able to process excess blood sugar because the function of the insulin hormone which helps absorb sugar in the blood is disturbed.

Finally, the sugar actually accumulates too much in the blood and cannot be used as energy. This characteristic of high blood sugar actually makes the body seem to lack energy.

3. Always hungry, but even lose weight

Not only fatigue, symptoms of high blood sugar can also cause a person to become hungry quickly even though they have just eaten a lot.

Excess sugar in the blood cannot be processed by the body into energy, so the body's cells do not get energy. Cells and tissues that are deprived of energy intake will send "hunger" signals to the brain so that your appetite increases to consume food again.

However, instead of making you full and increasing body weight, these characteristics of high blood sugar actually cause a thin body.

This is because excess glucose that is not used ends up being excreted with the urine. This makes the brain think the body is lacking energy (even though it is not) so it switches to using a reserve energy source from fat.

The body will break down fat and muscle deposits which lead to weight loss. In most cases, this sign of high blood sugar can occur drastically without realizing it.

4. Blurred vision

The most common symptom of eye disorders for people with high sugar levels is blurred vision.

The appearance of this characteristic of high blood sugar is caused by the body not being able to use excess sugar as a source of energy for the nerves and eye tissue.

Nerves and eye tissue that lack "food" of glucose can not work properly so that vision becomes impaired.

5. Dry mouth

Dry mouth or what is commonly referred to as xerostomia, is one of the characteristics of high blood sugar. In people who have high blood sugar, dry mouth symptoms are also commonly accompanied by dry and chapped lips, bad breath, frequent thirst, and a dry sensation in the throat.

High levels of blood sugar cause the salivary glands to be disturbed so that they do not produce saliva normally. As a result, the need for saliva is not fulfilled and creates dryness and problems in the mouth.

In some people with high blood sugar, pain and soreness in the gums are also another accompanying sign.

How do you deal with high blood sugar levels?

Symptoms of high blood sugar can be experienced by anyone and at any time. If you experience one or more of the symptoms that you suspect are signs of high blood sugar, check your blood sugar immediately

You can do an independent check at home using a blood sugar check tool. In addition, a healthy lifestyle can help lower blood sugar levels back to normal limits.

Reporting from the American Diabetes Association, here are some tips for home remedies that can be done to treat symptoms of high blood sugar:

• Many drink
• Implementing a healthy and regular diet with balanced nutrition.
• Balance with regular exercise. Choose the type of exercise that is good for lowering blood sugar levels.
• Manage stress well, along with adequate rest and sleep.

So, if you know your blood sugar levels have jumped more than 200 mg / dL or 11 mmol / L, you should immediately see a doctor. Especially if the symptoms of high blood sugar that you are experiencing are getting worse.

Your doctor may ask you to do a blood sugar test to find a more precise diagnosis of your condition. Doctors generally will provide medications aimed at lowering blood sugar, such as the diabetes drug metformin.

Emergency help when experiencing high blood sugar

If you find that you have undiagnosed diabetes, high blood sugar can lead to serious diabetes complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis or Nonketotic Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemia (HHS).

Both of these conditions cause you to become so dehydrated that they can lead to a coma. Therefore, how to handle it requires emergency medical help in the hospital as soon as possible.

Later, you will be given treatment through additional fluids and electrolytes to replace lost body fluids or insulin therapy to balance the soaring blood sugar levels.

x