Hyperglycemia Treatment

Hyperglycemia is a serious health condition which develops when the sugar level in the blood becomes excessively high. It can happen to patients with both type 1 diabetes as well as type 2 diabetes. This condition arises either because of absence of insulin in the blood, insufficient insulin in the blood, or the insulin present in the blood is not working effectively. Hyperglycemia treatment should start as soon as the condition is identified or else it can lead to some serious health complications in the diabetic patient.

Factors Responsible for Hyperglycemia

There are a number of factors that can contribute towards hyperglycemia. They are as follows:

• The patient has skipped or forgotten the insulin dose.
• Missed any oral medication for diabetes.
• The insulin taken by the patient is not working as effectively as it should.
• Eating excess amount of carbohydrates or overeating.
• Increase in the levels of mental stress.
• Lack of exercises or less exercises than required.
• Some kind of infection and illness can also cause the rise in the level of sugar in the blood.

Symptoms

First of all, it is important to identify the hyperglycemia symptoms, and then treatment needs to be followed accordingly. The symptoms that are most commonly seen are: high levels of sugar in blood and urine, frequent urge of urination, irregular heartbeat, dryness in mouth, excessive and frequent feeling of thirst, excess increase in appetite, increase in healing time for wounds, loss of weight, fatigue, blurriness of vision, itchiness and dryness of skin. If these initial symptoms are neglected and the sugar levels remain unchecked, then the patient can slip into a coma. This type of diabetic coma is referred to as ketoacidosis and it requires hyperglycemia emergency treatment.

Acute Hyperglycemia Treatment

You have to sit with your doctor and make a proper treatment plan that will help to reduce the sugar levels in the blood. The main steps of treatment are as follows:

Medical Treatment: When you have hyperglycemia, then regular medical supervision is a must, and you need to strictly follow the instructions of your doctors. The doctor may need to change the dose, timing or the medicines quite frequently. Make sure you take all the medicines as per the given schedule. Your doctor may advice you to monitor the blood sugar levels on a daily basis. Patients with type 1 diabetes are often asked to test the blood sugar several times a day, while for type 2 diabetes, once a day check of blood sugar is usually enough.

Diet: Eating the right kind of food is the essential part of the hyperglycemia treatment. Fiber rich foods are very useful in this condition. Foods like beans, oat bran, nuts, fresh vegetables and fruits like apples supply healthy sugar to the body. Peas and legumes need to be included as they are rich in vegetable protein. For animal protein, opt for fish, chicken or turkey. Proteins help in balancing the sugar levels in the blood. Eating grounded flaxseed along with each meal is also good, as they are rich in essential fats like omega-3 fatty acids. Drink plenty of water with the flaxseed.

Exercise: The simplest way of lowering down blood sugar is with the help of physical exercises. Normally, it is recommended that a diabetic patient must do some aerobic exercises for about 20 minutes, thrice a week. If the glucose levels in the blood is above 240mg/dL, then one should check for presence of ketone in urine. In case ketones are present in the urine, one should not do any kind of exercises as it may lead to further increase in the sugar levels.

The key to treatment is to know the methods of managing diabetes. If you stick to your meal plan, exercise program, take your diabetic medications and insulin at the proper time, and keep a regular tab on the blood sugar levels, then chances of recurrence of hyperglycemia is much less.