When temperatures begin rising, chances are you’ll battle to maintain your blood sugars inside a wholesome vary.
However does sizzling climate truly 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 simply’ve taken an excessive amount of insulin for the meals you’ve eaten, otherwise you nonetheless have energetic insulin in your system earlier than exercising.
Low blood sugar can even happen in case you’ve forgotten to eat or in case you expertise hormonal modifications which 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 are going to 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 common individual with sort 1 diabetes experiences two episodes of low blood sugar per week.
If you don’t take insulin exogenously to 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.
Nonetheless, you’re not as susceptible to low blood sugar ranges, and while you do expertise low blood sugar, they’re much less prone 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
- Speedy 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 cases, dying
Name 911 if somebody you recognize is experiencing severely low blood sugar.
Administer glucagon to assist forestall coma and dying.
That is thought-about a medical emergency that wants quick consideration {and professional} medical assist.
Does summer season warmth make blood sugars go low?
It might seem to be warmth and humidity make your blood sugars crash, however that can solely be potential when you’ve got energetic 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.
You might be extra prone to expertise low blood sugar ranges in case you’re exterior within the warmth and humidity with energetic insulin on board.
This could additionally occur while 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.
You might not be capable of forestall all low blood sugars, however utilizing the next methods could assist:
- It’s best to remain out of the warmth and humidity in the course of the hottest instances of the day
- If you’re in sizzling water, corresponding to a sizzling tub or bathe, ensure you wouldn’t have a variety 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 are 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 carefully monitor your blood sugar ranges and you may deal with low blood sugar earlier than it turns into harmful
- Keep away from consuming alcohol, which is thought to trigger low blood sugar
- Maintain 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. Nonetheless, some persons are capable of operate 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 danger for seizures, diabetic coma, and dying.
This extreme low blood sugar requires quick remedy 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 consuming 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.
Should you’re capable of eat and drink, maintain 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, when you’ve got a variety of insulin in your system otherwise you’re unable to chew or swallow, that is when it is 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 harm and generally dying. That is uncommon, but it surely does occur.
This is the reason it’s essential to deal with low blood sugars promptly earlier than they turn into harmful.
At all times test your blood sugar earlier than, throughout, and after you eat and train—particularly throughout sizzling climate and the summer season warmth.
How can I keep wholesome in the summertime warmth?
It’s potential to remain wholesome in the summertime warmth.
The next ideas could assist:
- Keep hydrated by consuming loads of water (being dehydrated will increase the chance that you simply’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
- Intention 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
- Maintain your medicines, particularly insulin, in a cool place (by no means depart insulin in a sizzling automotive)
- Maintain your diabetes provides, together with steady glucose displays (CGM) and insulin pump provides, in a cool, dry place
