Hyperglycemia
Hyperglycemia is the technical term for high blood glucose (sugar). High blood glucose develops when there is too much sugar in the blood, when the body has too little insulin or when the body can't use insulin properly.
There are two types of hyperglycemia that occur in people with diabetes:
- Fasting hyperglycemia is defined as a blood sugar greater than 90-130 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) after fasting for at least 8 hours.
- After-meal hyperglycemia is defined as a blood sugar usually greater than 180 mg/dL. In people without diabetes post meal sugars rarely go over 140 mg/dL but occasional, after a large meal, a 1-2 hour post-meal glucose level can reach 180 mg/dL. Consistently elevated high post-meal glucose levels can be an indicator that a person is at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
A number of things can cause hyperglycemia. For example, if you have type 1 diabetes, you may not have given yourself enough insulin. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body may have enough insulin, but it is not as effective as it should be.
What causes hyperglycemia?
Hyperglycemia may be caused by:
- Skipping or forgetting your insulin or oral glucose-lowering medicine
- Eating too many grams of carbohydrates for the amount of insulin administered or just eating too many grams of carbohydrates in general
- Eating too much food and having too may calories
- Infection
- Illness
- Increased stress
- Decreased activity or exercising less than usual
- Strenuous physical activity
What are the symptoms of hyperglycemia?
The short-term signs of hyperglycemia include high blood glucose, high levels of sugar in the urine, frequent urination and increased thirst. Signs of frequent hyperglycemia are more worrisome and more detrimental to your overall health. These include:
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Poor wound healing
- Dry mouth
- Dry or itchy skin
- Impotence
- Recurrent infections such as vaginal yeast infections, groin rash, or external ear infections (swimmers ear)
Part of managing your diabetes is checking your blood glucose often. Ask your doctor how often you should check and what your blood glucose levels should be. Checking your blood and then treating high blood glucose early will help you avoid the other symptoms of hyperglycemia.
It's important to treat hyperglycemia as soon as you detect it. Failing to treat hyperglycemia could trigger a diabetic coma, commonly referred to as ketoacidosis.
How is hyperglycemia treated?
- Drink more water, which helps remove the excess glucose from your urine and helps you avoid dehydration.
- Exercise more. Exercise will help to lower your blood glucose.
- Change your eating habits.
- Change your medications.
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