Medication
Therapy
See more
What causes a diabetic to go into a coma?
If you have diabetes, dangerously high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can lead to a diabetic coma. If you lapse into a diabetic coma, you're alive — but you can't awaken or respond purposefully to sights, sounds or other types of stimulation.
Can you put yourself in a diabetic coma?
Patients with diabetes need to be aware that excess insulin can lower blood sugar levels too far, which can lead to a coma in severe cases. Although this is nearly always an accident, in rare occurrences it may be intentional.
How does a diabetic coma affect the brain?
In patients with DKA, cerebral oxygen utilization is impaired, and there is hyperviscosity of the blood. A substantial part of the brain's energy source is derived from ketones, which in themselves can depress sensorium. Extracellular hyperosomolality is present, which may also contribute to the genesis of coma.
What happens when you go into a diabetic shock?
When a person experiences diabetic shock, or severe hypoglycemia, they may lose consciousness, have trouble speaking, and experience double vision. Early treatment is essential because blood sugar levels that stay low for too long can lead to seizures or diabetic coma.
What does a diabetic coma feel like?
The severe symptoms of uncontrolled blood sugar that can come before a diabetic coma include vomiting, difficulty breathing, confusion, weakness, and dizziness.
How is a diabetic coma treated?
High blood sugar Intravenous fluids to restore water to your tissues. Potassium, sodium or phosphate supplements to help your cells function correctly. Insulin to help your tissues absorb the glucose in your blood.
When does diabetic coma occur?
A diabetic coma could happen when your blood sugar gets too high -- 600 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or more -- causing you to become very dehydrated. It usually affects people with type 2 diabetes that isn't well-controlled. It's common among those who are elderly, chronically ill, and disabled.
What is a diabetic coma and what causes it to occur quizlet?
A diabetic coma occurs when blood sugar levels become either too low or too high. The cells in your body require glucose to function. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, can make you dehydrated which can cause you to lose consciousness.
Can too much insulin cause brain damage?
Insulin shock is a diabetic emergency. If left untreated, it can lead to diabetic coma, brain damage, and even death.
What is a diabetic crash?
But when your blood sugar increases very steeply after eating, your body can release too much insulin, making your blood sugar plummet below normal levels. This is technically referred to as postprandial hypoglycemia or reactive hypoglycemia, but it's commonly called a blood sugar 'crash'.
What is a diabetic coma?
A diabetic coma is a life-threatening diabetes complication that causes unconsciousness. If you have diabetes, dangerously high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can lead to a diabetic coma.
What to do if you pass out from a diabetic coma?
When to see a doctor. A diabetic coma is a medical emergency. If you feel extreme high or low blood sugar signs or symptoms and think you might pass out, call 911 or your local emergency number. If you're with someone with diabetes who has passed out, call for emergency help, and be sure to let the emergency personnel know ...
Why does insulin stop?
Insulin delivery can stop if the pump fails or the tubing (catheter) is twisted or falls out of place. A lack of insulin can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis. An illness, trauma or surgery. When you're sick or injured, blood sugar levels tend to rise, sometimes dramatically.
What happens if you don't monitor your blood sugar?
If you don't monitor your blood sugar properly or take your medications as directed, you'll have a higher risk of developing long-term complications and a diabetic coma. Deliberately skipping meals or insulin.
What is the name of the condition where blood sugar is low?
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) Signs and symptoms of a low blood sugar level may include: Some people, especially those who've had diabetes for a long time, develop a condition known as hypoglycemia unawareness and won't have the warning signs that signal a drop in blood sugar.
How to help someone who is passing out?
If you pass out, someone should be able to call for emergency help. Wear a medical ID bracelet or necklace.
Why do you need to check your blood sugar regularly?
Check more frequently if you've exercised because exercise can cause blood sugar levels to drop, even hours later, especially if you don't exercise regularly.
How to prevent diabetic coma?
In terms of food and drink, here are some tips for preventing diabetic coma: Learn about foods that affect your blood sugar and the best meal plan for you. Don’t skip meals. Keep treatment for a low blood sugar with you at all times (example: four glucose tabs, a small juice box, or five Life Savers®).
What is a diabetic coma?
Diabetic coma is a life-threatening emergency that can happen to you if you have diabetes. In a diabetic coma, you’re unconscious and unable to respond to your environment. You’re either suffering from high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) or low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).
Why do people with Type 1 diabetes have a greater chance of going into a diabetic coma?
People with Type 2 diabetes have a greater chance of going into a diabetic coma from diabetic hyperosmolar syndrome than from diabetic ketoacidosis or hypoglycemia.
What happens if you see a diabetic confused?
If you see a person with diabetes who appears confused, they may be having a low blood sugar episode. Left untreated, the low blood sugar could lead to a diabetic coma. If the person is still able to follow instructions, give him or her something to drink or eat and call for an ambulance or 911.
How to manage blood sugar?
These are other recommendations to help you manage your blood glucose levels: Check and record blood sugar levels at the times recommended by your healthcare provider. Follow instructions for proper dosage and timing of medications and insulin. Learn how different types of exercise affect your blood sugar.
What to do if you call 911 for diabetes?
If you do have diabetes, you may want to wear a medical identification item like a bracelet or necklace.
What are the symptoms of hyperglycemia?
Some symptoms of hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) are: Tiredness. Abdominal pain.
How to prevent a diabetic coma?
The key to preventing a diabetic coma is proper blood glucose management. This means taking your insulin and testing your blood glucose and ketones as your doctor recommends.
What does it mean when you are in a diabetic coma?
It can occur in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. A diabetic coma occurs when blood sugar levels become either too low or too high. The cells in your body require glucose to function. High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, can make you feel lightheaded and lose consciousness.
What to do if you miss insulin?
Consider working with a dietitian who’s a certified diabetes educator. They can help you create a diabetes meal plan. You should know what to do if you miss a dose of insulin or other diabetes medication. Ask your doctor about that, as well as what to do if you start to feel symptoms of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
How to treat hyperglycemia?
Treating hyperglycemia requires intravenous fluids to improve fluid levels throughout your body. You may also receive insulin to help your cells absorb the extra circulating glucose. If your sodium, potassium, or phosphate levels are low, you may get supplements to help bring them up to healthy levels.
Can you lose consciousness from high blood sugar?
High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, can make you feel lightheaded and lose consciousness. Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can cause dehydration to the point where you may lose consciousness. Usually, you can prevent hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia from progressing to a diabetic coma. If a diabetic coma occurs, it’s likely ...
Can you wear a medical bracelet if you are in a diabetic coma?
People who get emergency treatment for a diabetic coma usually recover fully. Your doctor may recommend that you wear a medical identification bracelet that explains the nature of your diabetes and other health concerns. This may help ensure you get the proper treatment for future problems quickly.
Can diabetes cause cardiovascular problems?
Uncontrolled diabetes can harm your cardiovascular health in particular. As you age, your body’s chemistry changes. Be prepared to change medication doses or adjust your diet along the way. A diabetic coma is an unusual event, but it’s common enough that you should be aware that the risk exists.
Why is it important to learn about diabetic coma?
If you have diabetes, it’s important to learn about diabetic coma, including its causes and symptoms. Doing so will help prevent this dangerous complication and help you get the treatment you need right away.
How to prevent diabetic coma?
Other ways you can prevent diabetic coma include: early symptom detection. sticking to your diet. regular exercise. moderating alcohol and eating when drinking alcohol. staying hydrated, preferably with water.
What is DKA in diabetes?
DKA. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurs when your body lacks insulin and uses fat instead of glucose for energy. Ketone bodies accumulate in the bloodstream. DKA occurs in both forms of diabetes, but it’s more common in type 1. Ketone bodies may be detected with special blood glucose meters or with urine strips to check for DKA.
What is a diabetic coma?
What is diabetic coma? Diabetic coma is a serious, potentially life-threatening complication associated with diabetes. A diabetic coma causes unconsciousness that you cannot awaken from without medical care. Most cases of diabetic coma occur in people with type 1 diabetes. But people with other types of diabetes are also at risk.
What to do if you lose consciousness?
Instruct your loved ones to call 911 if you lose consciousness. The same should be done if you experience warning symptoms of diabetic coma. Show others how to administer glucagon in the case of diabetic coma from hypoglycemia.
What to do if you are in a coma?
Know the signs and symptoms that may lead up to a coma, and be prepared to spot problems before they turn into emergencies. Prepare both yourselves and others about what to do if you become comatose. Make sure to manage your diabetes to reduce your risk. Last medically reviewed on September 12, 2016.
How to manage diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes puts people at a higher risk for coma, but people with type 2 are also at risk. Work with your doctor to make sure your blood sugar is at the right level. And seek medical care if you don’t feel better despite treatment.
Why do people go into a coma with diabetes?
In people with diabetes, the most common causes of coma are very high or very low blood glucose. Very low blood glucose levels which lead to coma can happen if people inject too much insulin for the meals and activities they are undertaking.
What causes a diabetic to go into a coma?
Causes of diabetic coma. The main causes of coma occurring in people with diabetes are as a result of very low or very high blood glucose levels. The three most common causes of coma in people with diabetes are: Severe hypoglycemia. Diabetic ketoacidosis. Hyperglycaemic hyperosmolar state.
What is the dangerous condition of high blood glucose?
However, at very blood glucose levels (typically above 33 mmol/L) a dangerous condition called Hyperosmolar Hyperglycaemic State (HHS) can develop. Periods of illness or lack of sufficient diabetes medication could lead to development of Hyperosmolar Hyperglycaemic State.
What is hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state?
Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State may occur if blood glucose levels are very high, typically over 40 mmol/l. It is important to be able to recognise the symptoms of very low and very high blood glucose levels to prevent these conditions leading to coma. The symptoms of very low blood glucose include:
Is ketoacidosis a coma?
Diabetic ketoacidosis and coma. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a dangerous state of having very high blood glucose levels (typically above 17 mmol/L) in combination with high ketone levels. Ketoacidosis is able to occur if the body runs out of insulin and is therefore a factor for people with type 1 diabetes to be aware of.
Can low blood glucose cause coma?
Severe hypoglycemia (very low blood glucose levels) can lead to loss of consciousness and coma if not treated. In most cases the body will restore blood sugar levels to normal by releasing glucagon to raise blood sugar levels. Coma is more likely to occur from low blood glucose levels if: A large insulin overdose is taken.
Can you be in a coma with type 1 diabetes?
Diabetic coma at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. If the symptoms of type 1 diabetes are not spotted soon enough , ketoacidosis can develop leading to coma before a diagnosis is made. It is possible that doctors may not correctly diagnose diabetes at first presentation. Approximately 1 in 4 patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are recorded as ...
What causes a diabetic to be in a coma?
A diabetic hyperosmolar coma is caused by severe dehydration and very high blood glucose levels (hyperglycaemia). increased intake of sugary foods or fluids. Those at most risk of this type of coma are people with type 2 diabetes, who have an infection or acute illness and have reduced their intake of fluids.
What is the name of the condition where you are in a coma?
Diabetes mellitus is a condition characterised by high blood glucose (sugar) levels. Uncontrolled diabetes may lead to a diabetic coma or unconsciousness. The three types of coma associated with diabetes are diabetic ketoacidosis coma, hyperosmolar coma and hypoglycaemic coma.
What is diabetes mellitus?
On this page. Diabetes mellitus is a condition characterised by high blood glucose (sugar) levels. Uncontrolled diabetes may lead to a diabetic coma or unconsciousness. The three types of coma associated with diabetes are diabetic ketoacidosis coma, hyperosmolar coma and hypoglycaemic coma.
What causes a coma in the body?
This type of coma is triggered by the build-up of chemicals called ketones. Ketones are strongly acidic and cause the blood to become too acidic. When there is not enough insulin circulating, the body cannot use glucose for energy. Instead, fat is broken down and then converted to ketones in the liver.
What is a ketoacidotic coma?
ketoacidotic coma – intravenous fluids, insulin and administration of potassium. hyperosmolar coma – intravenous fluids, insulin, potassium and sodium given as soon as possible. hypoglycaemic coma – an injection of glucagon (if available) to reverse the effects of insulin or administration of intravenous glucose.
How does the kidney respond to high blood glucose levels?
The kidneys respond to high levels of blood glucose by doing their best to remove it, along with a great deal of water. The person experiencing diabetic hyperosmolarity will be very thirsty, but they can’t drink enough water to replace the lost fluids. They will become dehydrated and urgently need intravenous fluids.
What happens if blood glucose falls to very low levels?
drinks too much alcohol or drinks alcohol without eating food. If the blood glucose falls to very low levels, the person may become unconscious (hypoglycaemic coma) and seizures may occur.
How to prevent a diabetic coma?
Prevention of serious complications of diabetes, including diabetic coma, requires keeping the diabetes in strict glycemic control by vigilant and aggressive blood glucose management. Even then some things can induce a hyperglycemic state that is unavoidable.
What is the coma of a diabetic?
Diabetic coma results from these over-concentrated conditions, with neurological changes in the brain beginning with levels > 320-330 mg/dL. The coma can occur due to either a hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) or being in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Both involve a hyperglycemia state, but in HHS, glucose levels can exceed 1,000.
What is the endpoint of HHS and DKA?
Both HHS and DKA are endpoints in the abnormal metabolism initiated with hyperglycemia and are the most serious acute complications seen in DM. As glucose builds in the blood, its concentrations rise, making the blood “hyperosmolar” (over-concentrated). This stimulates the kidneys to compensate with excess urinary excretion of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) which causes an imbalance in them, as well.
Why is insulin thrown off balance?
Normally, the two hormones (insulin and glucagon) are in a balance, but in diabetes, that balance is thrown off because insulin normally suppresses the release of glucagon and when there is too little insulin, glucagon is overproduced. Too little insulin makes the glucose in the blood accumulate, since it’s not getting into the cells;
What is the normal blood sugar level for DKA?
In normal circumstances, blood sugar concentration is < 100 mg/dL. In DKA, however, the glucose concentration can be 350-400, and in HSS it can reach 1,000. DKA is a rapid sequence of events, causing nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, but HSS begins more slowly.
What type of diabetes is insulin resistant?
Another type of diabetes is “insulin-resistant” or Type II diabetes, in which—instead of not enough insulin—the cells resist the insulin’s normal functioning with the same result: not enough glucose enters cells and too much of it builds up in the blood.
Can hyperglycemia cause acidity?
Ketones: Untreated, runaway hyperglycemia can cause the acidity of the blood to increase, measured by a value called pH (how acid the blood is). Also, if the cells resort to a secondary method—a backup method—of making their own glucose for energy, it can cause a buildup of ketones (by-products of this method).
What Are The Causes of Diabetes-Related Coma?
What Are The Symptoms of A Diabetes-Related Coma?
What Are The Risk Factors For Diabetes-Related Coma?