Most people readily associate type 2 diabetes with the risk of high blood sugar levels but, as Dr Efthimia Karra, Consultant Endocrinologist for The Physicians Clinic at The Princess Grace Hospital explained, low blood sugar levels can also present a grave threat.
“Without treatment, low levels of blood sugar can lead to loss of consciousness, seizures and become life-threatening,” she said.
According to Dr Efthimia Karra, hypoglycaemia (the medical term for low blood sugar) is a medical emergency that can occur for many reasons, but, in diabetes, it usually results from the use of insulin or other medications that control blood sugar.
“Awareness of the symptoms associated with hypoglycaemia and patient-education are key, as this enables patients to treat low blood glucose levels quickly – in order to bring them back into the normal range,” she said.
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