Insulin Overdose Treatment

The pancreas, an organ 15cm long is found in the abdominal area. One of the functions of the pancreas is to produce insulin, a hormone that promotes breakdown of sugar, which helps to maintain healthy sugar levels. However, when the pancreas are no longer capable to produce insulin in sufficient amounts, it leads to abnormally high blood sugar levels. As we all know, this condition is commonly described as diabetes. To manage diabetes effectively, insulin is provided through external sources in the form of tablets or injections. There have been cases where in diabetic patients are mistakenly administered too much of insulin.

Symptoms

Insulin overdose cannot be tolerated by the body and the immediate response is a drastically low blood sugar levels. Low sugar in the blood is referred as hypoglycemia, which can cause excessive sweating, heart palpitations, seizures (involuntary shaking of any part of the body), uncontrollable hunger and anxiety.

Treatment

As aforementioned, insulin overdose give rise to some bothersome side effects that result from hypoglycemia. So, in order to improve the patient's health that has deteriorated from insulin overdose, it is necessary to stabilize blood sugar levels as early as possible. In case, treatment is ignored, the percentage of sugar in the blood decreases considerably. As a result, the person may experience some serious health issues such as seizures.

A simple way to arrest the 'downward march' of blood sugar levels is to consume foods and beverages high in sugar. Having fruit juices, cold drinks, ice creams or pastries can work to normalize blood sugar levels. In case, none of these food items are available at home, giving 4 teaspoons of sugar is enough to alleviate the symptoms.

Taking sugary foods orally is not possible if insulin symptoms worsen rapidly. To be specific, the person will not be in a position to consume any sweets if complications arise. In such circumstances, administering glucagon injections can help the body to regain its normal blood sugar levels. Glucagon is basically a hormone that encourages the production of sugar in the body, in turn helping to mitigate the effects of insulin overdose.

To tackle seizure problems, one will have to take anti seizure medications. Trembling, usually stops when the blood sugar levels are no longer in the harmful range. In some cases, the prescribed dosage of insulin for diabetes treatment is itself too much for the body to handle. So, many times, reducing the recommended dose helps to alleviate the symptoms.

On the whole, insulin overdose cannot be neglected, as depleting blood sugar levels, eventually makes the person unconscious. So, treatment has to be taken at the earliest, after too much of insulin has been administered accidentally.