What is Hyperglycemia?
Hyperglycemia is the medical or technical term for high blood sugar (glucose). It happens when the body does not produce insulin or cannot use insulin properly.
- The hormone insulin, which produces in the pancreas, lowers the sugar level in the blood by ensuring sugar is transported from the blood into the cells.
- However, if there is a shortage of insulin, the sugar remains in the blood, and the blood sugar level rises.
- Diabetes mellitus is predisposed to such chronically elevated blood sugar levels.
- Type 1 diabetics have an insulin deficiency, while type 2 diabetics have insulin resistance, which means that the cells do not respond to insulin.
- Diabetics need to keep an eye on the symptoms of the disease.
- Your measured blood glucose should be between 90 and 120 mg/dl (4.4 to 6.7 mmol/l) on an empty stomach and less than 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l) after meal.
What are the Causes of Hyperglycemia?
Hyperglycemia can have various causes :
- Too much food that increases blood sugar (white flour products, sugary drinks, sweets)
- Taking the wrong diabetes medications
- Not enough insulin or defective insulin pump or insulin dose forgotten
- Negligence in blood glucose measurement
- Less exercise than usual
- Febrile diseases
- Some medications (e.g., cortisone)
- Pregnancy
- Weight gain
- Stress, anger
Who is at Risk of Hyperglycemia?
Hyperglycemia can occur in a wide variety of clinical situations or different diseases. These include the patients with:
- Diabetes mellitus (type 1 and 2): have the more clinical significance
- Hypercortisolism
- Myocardial infarction (acute)
- CO poisoning
- Inhalation anaesthesia
- Shock
- Craniocerebral trauma
- Brain tumors
- Meningitis
- Hereditary hemochromatosis
What are the Sign and Symptoms of Hyperglycemia?
Mild elevations in blood glucose often go unnoticed.
Early Sign and Symptoms
- Increased thirst and dry mouth
- Increased urination
- Lack of energy
- Fatigue
- Nausea, abdominal pain
- Low blood pressure
- Low mood
- Visual disturbances
- Itching of the skin
Later Sign and Symptoms
- Weight loss
- Muscle pain and cramps
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Confusion and clouding of consciousness
- Deep breathing with acetone odour
- Unconsciousness
How is Hyperglycemia diagnosed?
- The described symptoms of elevated blood glucose levels are non-specific.
- Therefore, a measurement of blood glucose must always perform.
- At values above 240 mg/dl (13.3 mmol/l), the urine should test for ketone bodies/acetone. The detection of ketone bodies/acetone is a dangerous sign of illness. It can do with the help of ketone test strips (pharmacy) via the urine or the measurement of the ketone bodies in the blood.
How can Hyperglycemia be treated?
- Acute hyperglycemia is treated clinically with the immediate administration of short-acting insulin.
- Drink plenty of water
- It is then imperative to measure blood glucose at regular intervals using test strips and check acetone excretion in the urine every two hours.
- The patient must avoid any physical exertion and do not fall asleep.
- In the event of a worse condition, the diabetes team should be notified immediately and, if necessary, also the emergency physician.
If serious complications (unconsciousness, coma) occur, the patient needs intensive medical care to prevent lasting damage to organs, especially the intestines, stomach, and kidneys.
What Consequences can have Hyperglycemia?
In the long term, too high values harm the body in many organs.
For example, long-term hyperglycemia can promote the following diseases.
- Vascular calcification (arteriosclerosis)
- Heart attack or stroke
- Eyes problem (retinopathy),
- Nerves problem (neuropathy) and
- Kidneys disorders (nephropathy).
If blood glucose levels are not checked regularly and continue to rise unnoticed, hyperglycemia can lead to other critical blood glucose disorders like:
- In type 1 diabetes- ketoacidosis: Ketoacidosis is a dangerous metabolic disorder triggered by insulin deficiency. In ketoacidosis, the blood glucose level is above 250 mg/dl (13.8 mmol/l). Unrecognized and untreated, a life-threatening diabetic coma can develop. Ketoacidosis occurs mainly in people with type 1 diabetes. The hormone insulin has the function of transporting glucose from the blood into the body’s cells. There, sugar is needed for energy production. If insulin is missing, the cells break down fat as a substitute. This produces acidic metabolic products known as ketone bodies. These accumulate in the blood and can lead to acidosis.
- In type 2 diabetes- hyperosmolar coma: A hyperosmolar coma usually develops slowly and is easily treatable with supplemental insulin at any stage. It usually occurs in older type 2 diabetics, where extremely high blood glucose values can occur (blood glucose level over 600 mg/dl or 33.3 mmol/l). The most important preventive measure is sufficient drinking. If consciousness begins to be impaired, treatment in the clinic is absolutely necessary and must be arranged quickly.
What are Preventive Measures of Hyperglycemia?
In general, you can prevent elevated blood glucose levels by
- Taking any necessary blood glucose-lowering medication as discussed with your doctor
- Check your blood glucose frequently
- Getting enough exercise
- Paying careful attention to your diet
- Reducing causes of stress
- Reacting quickly to illnesses and infections
References
- Hyperglycemia: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments & Prevention (clevelandclinic.org)
- Hyperglycemia in diabetes – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
- Hyperglycemia (High Blood Glucose) | ADA (diabetes.org)
- Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar): Symptoms, Causes, Treatments (webmd.com)
- Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar): Symptoms, treatments, and more (medicalnewstoday.com)
- Hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
- Hyperglycemia – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)