Medically reviewed by John Paul Abrina, MD · Oncology · Davao Doctors Hospital
Hyperglycemia is a condition wherein the level of blood glucose (sugar level in the body) exceeds the normal sugar level of the body while fasting.
Hyperglycemia is the hallmark of diabetes. Those with diabetes either cannot produce insulin, the hormone your body needs to process sugar and turn it into energy, or have an inability to use the insulin. As a result, the sugar level in the blood stays high.
A person with hyperglycemia would have a blood glucose level that exceeds 125mg/dL while fasting or 180mg/dL of blood glucose two hours after a meal (postprandial).
Hyperglycemia is a severe type of condition and gets worse over time. The severity of hyperglycemia can cause complications such as diabetic coma. In terms of long term effects, hyperglycemia may affect organs such as the heart and kidneys. The eyes and nerves may be affected as well.
It is important to recognize the signs of hyperglycemia to prevent the condition from worsening and causing further damage to the body.
Early symptoms of hyperglycemia:
Additional symptoms of hyperglycemia:
Below are some of the causes of this condition:
The following are risk factors for acquiring this condition:
If hyperglycemia is uncontrolled, it will lead to several complications associated with diabetes. These include:
Complications affecting the smaller blood vessels. Among these are:
Conditions that affect the arteries. These affect the supply of blood to the heart, brain, and other organs. Among these are:
Since hyperglycemia is having too much blood sugar in the body, one way of treating this is by exercising. Exercising has the ability to lower blood sugar levels in the body.
However, you must make sure that you do not have ketones. Ketones result from your body breaking down body fat because it can’t turn sugar into energy. If you do have ketones, you must not engage in exercises.
Different treatments are advised for people with ketones since exercising would only make their blood sugar higher.
Speak with your doctor or dietitian to discuss what your diet should look like. If by any chance both exercising and changing your diet does not do much in terms of balancing your blood sugar level, then the next recommended treatment would be changing the amount of your current medication.
In order to prevent hyperglycemia from happening, you may observe the following practices:
Hyperglycemia must be addressed as soon as possible as it can cause serious health problems if left untreated for a long time. Severe cases lead to comas and even death. Make sure to consult a health professional as soon as you start feeling symptoms.
Learn more about Diabetes Complications here.
Disclaimer
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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