The condition where the body produces the excess of glucose that cannot be absorbed by the body is known as diabetes. Low blood sugar causes a disease called seizure which is characterized by lack of flow of blood to the brain thereby damaging a part of the brain.
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What is a diabetic seizure and what are the symptoms?
When the diabetes level is shallow and falls below the stipulated level, then a diabetic seizure occurs. Having a seizure is dangerous for the person and those staying near him. Some people having epilepsy have frequent seizures and for those without epilepsy have “provoked seizures.” The seizure is often diagnosed by some symptoms which are usually provoked by oral diabetes medications that produce more of insulin. It could be caused by lack of insulin or even failing to eat after getting injected with insulin. The various warning symptoms of seizure are:
- Profusely sweating
- Getting confused
- Feeling sleepy or dizzy
- Showing signs of shakiness
- Feeling cold
- Experiencing hallucination
- Emotional behavior which is unexplained
- Uncontrolled crying
- Unaware surroundings
- Vision change
- Spoken words unclear
- Losing muscle control
- Feeling muscle weakness and
- Anxiety
If the condition of a diabetic seizure is untreated, then one might fall unconscious and have convulsions.
How is seizure different from Epilepsy?
Epilepsy occurs due to an electrical storm in the brain. Recurrent seizures occur due to loss of conscious state, disruption of senses, loss of aura, convulsion and many other factors. Epilepsy is triggered by light, sound or might be some additional flickering stimulation. Treatment includes medications and some diet changes.
Unlike epilepsy, a provoked seizure continues which includes low sodium, fever, trauma, drugs, and even low blood sugar. When blood sugar level falls below 30, then neurons in brain decrease and ultimately person seizes.
What are the causes of a seizure?
There are several factors that induce blood sugar to drop.
- If too much of insulin is administered
- By skipping meals or eating insufficiently
- Intake of too much of alcohol
- Rigorous exercise
- Medications that trigger the pancreas to produce insulin irrespective of blood sugar level
- By injecting NPH insulin at night which peaks after 4-8 hour of administration.
How to avoid having a seizure?
In case you see that a person is having a seizure then you can:
- Protect the person from injury by keeping him off from falling.
- You may help by guiding the person on floor
- Never force anything into the person’s mouth
- Never hold the person, which may lead to dislocation of the shoulder.
- It’s said that lack of vitamins causes a seizure. Vitamin B1, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12 deficiency result in seizures in adults and infants.
How to get a seizure treated?
If you see a person suffering from the seizure, he is advised to see a doctor or rush to the hospital. It will be a good idea to see the neurologist and discuss the following factors:
- You will have to mention how often you have seizures
- What time of the day you have seizures
- You must indicate how long they last
- Mention the symptoms you have before the seizure happens
- Mention what your typical diet consists of
- Mention how often you exercise and also the hours of the day.
- You must mention what you do to increase your blood sugar when you see it’s decreasing rapidly.
- Try keeping a log of blood sugar.
What are the ways to prevent hypoglycemia?
In case you drink alcohol, have meal or snack with it so that the blood sugar level gets maintained.
- Meals should not be skipped
- Medications should be taken on time
- While exercising a lot during day, increase your intake of medicine
- If you use during the afternoon, you must check your blood sugar before bedtime.
- You may undergo continuous glucose monitoring to avoid running low blood sugar.
Diabetes is the root cause of various problems. Extreme high or low blood sugar tends to cause multiple malfunctions in the body. The seizure usually happens due to various reasons and causes malfunctioning of certain parts of the human body. But if taken care of at an early stage, seizures could be managed effectively, and the chances of organ being damaged could also be lessened.