Hypoglycemia Without Diabetes

Hypoglycemia is the condition where blood sugar drops below the normal range. A sudden drop in blood sugar can produce a number of hypoglycemia symptoms. Usually, people with diabetes are at a greater risk for experiencing the true hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia in diabetic patients most frequently occurs as a side effect of diabetes medications, and administration of insulin. An acute episode of hypoglycemia in diabetes patients can be often triggered by fasting or skipping a meal, having too small meals, consumption of too much alcohol, and increased physical activities. But sometimes, people can suffer from hypoglycemia even though they do not have diabetes. In other words, people can get this condition without diabetes diet and medication at times.

Drop in Blood Sugar Without Diabetes

Causes
The most common cause for a significant drop in blood sugar among people who do not have diabetes is intake of certain medications. More commonly, it is quinine (used for treating malaria), which can cause blood sugar to fall below the normal range in a non diabetic individual. Even medicines like, aspirin and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (a group of antidepressant drugs) can lead to this condition. Another common cause is too much alcohol consumption. This can happen especially if a person drinks a lot of alcohol without eating properly.

Certain severe diseases such as hepatitis, as well as the diseases and disorders that affect the kidneys and eating disorder can also cause the blood sugar to drop below the normal range. Apart from these, some other possible causes are, development of insulin producing tumors in the pancreas, enlargement of beta cells of the pancreas, and disorders of the adrenal and pituitary glands. Adrenal and pituitary glands disorders are more likely to cause this condition in children even when they do not have diabetes. Sometimes, people who have undergone gastric bypass surgery may also get this condition.

Symptoms
Its symptoms can be mild or severe, depending on how great the fall in blood sugar is. Most commonly, the following symptoms can be observed if blood sugar falls below the normal level.

• Hunger
• Nervousness
• Perspiration
• Anxiety and weakness
• Shakiness
• Confusion
• Blurry vision
• Dizziness
• Difficulty in speaking
• Loss of consciousness (in severe cases)

Treatment
Diagnosis of this condition often begins with a careful examination a person's medical history, the kind of medications he or she is taking, followed by a measurement of the level of blood sugar. If frequent episodes of hypoglycemia are found to be caused by an underlying disorder, then it can resolved by treating the health problem that is causing hypoglycemia. The symptoms of hypoglycemia can be easily treated by taking glucose tablets, fruit juice, candies or anything that contains simple sugars. But, a severe episode of hypoglycemia may require immediate hospitalization, and intravenous administration of glucose.

In the future, episodes of hypoglycemia can be avoided by finding out the exact condition or situation that led to the drop in blood sugar. This can be done by consulting a physician, who can also provide guidance regarding how to avoid such a situation in the future, with the help of a few lifestyle and dietary modifications. But, if this condition is associated with any other health problem, then its future occurrences can be prevented only by treating the underlying condition.