Hypoglycemia is the sharp drop in blood sugar levels and is one of the most serious complications of diabetes treatment, especially type 1, although it can also happen in healthy people. This situation if not properly treated can even lead to coma or irreversible brain damage.
Its main causes include:
- Stay more than 3 hours without eating;
- Do lots of physical activity without eating;
- Consume alcoholic beverages on an empty stomach;
- Use medicines that can lower blood sugar like aspirin, biguanidine, and metformin without your doctor's advice;
- Do not take your insulin at the correct dose or time.
Diabetics who need to take insulin or other oral hypoglycemic drugs before dinner may suffer from nighttime hypoglycemia, which is silent and affects about 70% of patients with type 1 diabetes.
Medicinal plants that can cause hypoglycaemia
Some medicinal plants may cause hypoglycemia are:
- Melon of São Caetano ( Mormodica charantia )
- Black pea or Lyon-bean ( Mucuna pruriens )
- Jambolão ( Syzygium alternifolium )
- Aloe (Aloe vera )
- White Mallow ( Sida cordifolia L. )
- Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees )
- Eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus globulus Labill )
- Ginseng ( Panax ginseng )
- Artemisia ( Artemisia santonicum L. )
Consumption of any of these plants during the treatment of type 1 diabetes can cause a lack of glycemic control and so whenever you want a natural treatment against diabetes or whenever you need to drink tea you should talk to your doctor to avoid that sugar levels in the blood too low.
Remedies that may cause hypoglycaemia
Here are some examples of oral hypoglycemic drugs that are indicated for the treatment of diabetes, but which when used in the wrong dose may cause hypoglycemia:
| Tolbutamide (Artrosin, Diaval) | Metformin |
| Glibenclamide (Glionil, Gliformin) | Glipizide (Luditec, Minodiab) |
| Glicazida (Diamicron) | Obinese |
How to recognize the Symptoms of Hypoglycemia
Symptoms of hypoglycemia usually begin to manifest when the blood glucose is below 60 mg / dl, and may occur:
- Dizziness;
- Blurred or blurred vision;
- Too hungry
- Too much sleep or extreme tiredness.
These symptoms occur because the brain runs out of energy, which is glucose. When hypoglycemia reaches values as low as 40mg / dl it becomes severe and medical assistance is necessary because of lethargy, seizures and fainting, which put the person at risk.
This severe decrease in blood sugar can be identified through the symptoms that the person presents and is confirmed through a glycometer, with a result of 70mg / dl or less.
What to do in case of hypoglycaemia
What one should do in case of hypoglycemia is to offer something for the individual to eat immediately. It can be a glass of water with sugar, a natural orange juice or a sweet biscuit, for example. After a few minutes the individual should feel better and then should complete a full meal and should not remain for more than 3 hours without eating anything, but it is advised to eat foods with a low glycemic index such as fruits and whole grains at all meals so that the individual does not eat only "bullshit" and is anemic and overweight.
