What to Do for Low Blood Sugar

Monitor Blood Sugar

• Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can develop if you have missed a meal or if you are experiencing an insulin reaction. If you have eaten, but you didn't eat as much as you should have, you may experience low blood sugar. The symptoms you could feel include feeling woozy, shaky, hungry, nervous or irritable. You may have a headache and your lips or mouth could be numb. Later symptoms could include blurry vision, dizziness, restlessness, personality change, slurred speech, behavior change or fainting. You may experience some of these symptoms or none of them. Another person may have symptoms different from yours.
  Your blood sugar should be over 80 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). Make sure you have access to sugar in case you develop a hypoglycemic condition.
  Educate family, friends and co-workers about symptoms of low blood sugar so they can help you if you are not able to help yourself.
  
  

Drink or Eat

• You can drink four oz. of juice or five to six oz. of regular soda or eat five to six hard candies or one tablespoon of regular sugar or jelly or three glucose tablets if your blood sugar is too low (below 60). You may need to eat a complex carbohydrate (crackers or bread) in order to increase your blood sugar level.
  In the event you have treated yourself for low blood sugar, and your next regular meal is more than one-half hour away, eat a small meal or a snack so your blood sugar doesn't fall too low again. Make it a regular practice to carry a sugary item with you all the time just in case you become hypoglycemic.
  
  

If You are Unconscious

• A friend, family member or co-worker should give you a shot of glucagon (hormone which stimulates the releases of sugar into your blood), then call emergency services so you can receive needed medical treatment. Once you are able, you should eat bread or crackers in order to keep your blood sugar level in your healthy range.