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Diabetes-Related High and Low Blood Sugar Levels
About this symptom
- Topic Overview
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Health Tools
- Check Your Symptoms
- Home Treatment
- Prevention
- Preparing For Your Appointment
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
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Although high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) have very different symptoms and treatments, they are both caused by blood sugar and insulin imbalances. The steps you take to control your blood sugar level will help prevent both high and low blood sugar levels.
Be sure to have identification, such as a
medical alert bracelet 
, with you at all times that says you have diabetes. This
will help other people take steps to care for you if you are not able tell them
about your medical condition.
You can take steps to prevent high and low blood sugar emergencies.
- Follow your treatment plan.
- Monitor your blood sugar levels regularly to detect early changes before an emergency develops. Treat your symptoms of high or low blood sugar quickly to prevent more problems.
- Control your stress.
- Limit how much alcohol you drink. Do not drink alcohol if you have problems recognizing the early signs of low blood sugar.
Monitoring and controlling blood sugar levels
Use home blood sugar tests to determine whether your blood sugar is in your target range. Work with your doctor to set your individual treatment goals. If you can consistently maintain this level of control, you will have very few blood sugar level emergencies.
Control stress
No matter how skilled you are at monitoring and controlling your blood sugar levels, you are still at risk for high or low blood sugar levels that are brought on by stressful situations. Stress can affect your body's blood sugar levels in two ways:
- It changes the way your body uses insulin, which is mostly a problem for people with type 2 diabetes.
- It can cause you to change the way you take care of yourself, a problem for all people with diabetes.
Stress can be both mental and physical. Some examples of stress include an illness, a bad day at work, and a tough problem at home. When you are under stress, your blood sugar levels change. For more information, see the topic Stress Management.
Blood sugar levels and exercise
You can keep your blood sugar levels under control when you exercise, so that you do not become too hungry or make your blood sugar level drop. There are two ways to keep your blood sugar levels under control:
- At the meal before your planned exercise, you can take less insulin, OR
- Before you exercise, eat some carbohydrate.
Keep a quick-sugar food with you during exercise in case your blood sugar level drops low.
Vaccinations
Your doctor may recommend that you get
vaccinations, such as a
flu 
(What is a PDF document?) shot
or
pneumonia (What is a PDF document?)
shot, to prevent you from those illnesses.
Other places to get help
The American Diabetes Association has a lot of information on diabetes and can link you to support groups. For more information, call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or see the organization's Web site: www.diabetes.org/home.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: August 17, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
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