How to manage hyperglycaemia?

1. What is hyperglycaemia?

For adequate diabetes control, children with Type 1diabetes must maintain blood glucose within the recommended target range.  When blood glucose is too high, it’s called hyperglycaemia. Very high blood glucose over 14 mmol/L (250 mg/dl) can cause serious symptoms that need to be treated right away.

If it’s not treated, hyperglycaemia can become severe and lead to life-threatening complications requiring emergency care, such as a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Too much glucose in the blood for long periods of time can damage your nerves, blood vessels and vital organs, which can lead to problems like heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, non-healing wound and leg amputation.

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2. How to recognise hyperglycaemia?

The signs and symptoms of high blood glucose can vary depending on the person.
These are some of the things you feel or get when you have high blood glucose:

• Thirsty all the time

• Need to urinate a lot especially night time

• Blurred vision

• Very tired all the time

• Dry mouth

If it’s a serious case of high blood glucose you might also experience:

• Nausea

• Stomach pain

• Abnormal breathing

• Breath that smells like alcohol

Sometimes hyperglycaemia can get very serious and you can faint or lose consciousness. If you have any of these signs you should be brought to the hospital/ clinic immediately.

3. What can cause hyperglycaemia?

Managing Type 1 Diabetes is like a three-way balancing act because you have to watch your insulin, the food you eat and the amount of exercise or physical activity you get.
All three need to be balanced. If any one of these is off, blood sugar levels can be too high or too low. In general, higher than normal blood glucose levels can be caused by:

• Not taking your insulin when you’re supposed to or not taking the right dose

• Taking insulin that has expired or was not stored properly

• Not following the meal plan (like eating/ snacking too frequently)

• Taking too much carbohydrate foods/ sugary drinks

• Less exercise than usual

• Having an infection, illness or menstruation

• Emotion, such as excitement or stress

• Stress during or just after vigorous exercise may temporarily increase blood glucose

• Taking other kinds of medicines that affect your blood glucose and how it reacts to insulin

4. Checking for high blood glucose levels.

As part of the diabetes management plan, you’ll need to check your glucose levels multiple times a day. This helps you identify when you have hyperglycemia, even when you do not have symptoms. Someone who isn’t testing regularly might have blood glucose levels high enough to damage the body without even realizing it.

If you have a lot of high blood glucose levels, your doctor may suggest changes in insulin treatment and/ or meal plan to bring the levels back into a healthy range.

5. How to treat high blood glucose (hyperglycaemia)?

If your blood glucose is over 14 mmol/L (250 mg/dl) you have to take action quickly.
Here are the steps you have to follow:

• Check your blood glucose level and take a short acting insulin shot

• Contact your doctor/ nurse to ask how much extra insulin you need or if you are not sure what to do

• Drink lots of water (at least 1 glass of water per hour)

• Avoid strenuous exercise

• After 2 hours check your blood glucose level

If your blood glucose is still over 14 mmol/L (250 mg/dl), immediately contact your doctor/nurse.
If your blood glucose is over 22 mmol/L (400mg/dl), take short acting insulin immediately and contact your doctor/hospital immediately.

6. Key Takeaways

Hyperglycaemia, or high blood sugar, is a condition that arises when blood sugar levels in the body are elevated beyond what’s normal. Prolonged hyperglycaemia can cause serious complications that are typically associated with diabetes, and in more serious cases can even lead to life-threatening situations.

For people with Type 1 diabetes, avoiding hyperglycaemia is an integral part of managing their condition. This can be done by keeping an eye on the food that you eat, as well as checking your blood sugar levels regularly to make sure that they are always within the normal range. It’s also important to follow your doctor’s advice since they are the ones who are best able to guide you on how to manage your diabetes.