Cold sweats, shaky hands, extreme anxiety, and confusion are all symptoms of hypoglycemia. Doctors call this hypoglycemia. This happens most often when a patient has an overdose of insulin.
Many people with diabetes develop hypoglycemia, which is a more serious condition. Most insulin problems can be avoided if patients can follow a few simple rules.
How can I avoid mistakes?
Some conditions may cause patients to inject too much insulin, and these often include:
- Misreading a syringe or vial: When patients are unfamiliar with a new product, it is easy to misread it.
- Use of the wrong type of insulin: If a patient regularly uses 30 units of long-acting insulin and 10 units of short-acting insulin, it is easy to confuse the two types of insulin.
- Insulin injection without food: Fast-acting insulin and short-acting insulin should be given before or with a meal. The patient’s blood glucose rises after a meal. Using rapid-acting insulin or short-acting insulin without eating can lower blood sugar to dangerous levels.
- Injecting insulin in the arm or leg before exercise: Physical activity lowers blood glucose levels and changes the way the body absorbs insulin. You should choose to inject in an area that is not affected by exercise.
Symptoms of insulin overdose
If hypoglycemia is caused by an insulin overdose, the patient will experience the following symptoms:
- Anxiety
- Delirium of consciousness
- Extreme hunger
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Sweating or cold and wet skin
- Shaky hands
If blood sugar continues to drop, the patient will have seizures or fainting.
What should I do if I have an insulin overdose?
Don’t panic. Most insulin overdoses can be treated at home, if feasible follow these steps:
- Check your blood sugar: you need to know where to start.
- Drink half a glass of regular soda or sweetened juice: consume hard candy or glucose cream, glucose tablets, or glucose gel.
- If the patient is not eating, he or she should eat something right away: foods with 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrate can help boost blood sugar.
- Rest. Stop the activity and take a break.
- Check the patient’s blood sugar again in 15 or 20 minutes: if it is still low, take another 15 to 20 grams of fast-acting sugar and also eat something.
- Note how you feel in the next few hours: If the patient still has symptoms, check the patient’s blood glucose again 1 hour after eating. Continue to snack when blood glucose is low.
If the patient’s blood glucose level is still low after 2 hours or if the patient’s symptoms do not improve, seek medical attention.
- If the patient loses consciousness, the emergency number needs to be called immediately.
- The patient may need to be given glucagon. This is a hormone that has the opposite effect of insulin. If the patient is predisposed to hypoglycemia, ask your doctor if you should have glucagon at home.
- If the patient is alert enough to follow instructions, they should give the patient sweetened juice.
- If the patient’s symptoms do not improve steadily over the next hour, they should call emergency services.
How to prevent insulin overdose?
Patients can take the following steps to prevent insulin overdose:
- Adhere to a regular injection schedule: this will make it easier for patients to stay on track.
- Eat at each mealtime: even if you are not hungry, you need to consume bread, a glass of skim milk, or a small serving of fruit. Always eat after insulin injections.
- Be prepared: Anticipate that the patient will have insulin complications at some point. Patients should carry some hard candy in their own or their partner’s bag, and have some in the car or travel bag.
- Make sure friends and family know how the patient is responding to hypoglycemia: This will help them act if the patient is hypoglycemic and confused.
- Wear a medical alert bracelet: Make sure it reminds the patient to use insulin.