Nowadays, people are likely to consume more food than what they actually need. More often than not, food contains lots of sugar which can result in having too much glucose in your body. Therefore, it is important to know how to control your blood sugar level, or in other words, to keep it not too low nor too high. Keep reading this article to learn more about the glucose level in your blood and diabetes.

Why people should keep an eye on their blood sugar level?

Keeping blood sugar levels normal is a good thing to do to prevent you from getting diabetes. The normal levels of an adult should be between 68 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL before eating and after eating. For kids, it is between 100 mg/dL to 200 mg/dL. Keep in mind that it is normal for glucose levels to go up and down during or after a meal, but it should generally stay around the mentioned levels above.

What happens if I have too much sugar in my blood?

As you may already know, having high blood sugar increases the risk of having diabetes. Because of the latter, your nerves, blood vessels, and other organs can be damaged, leading to serious health problems. Moreover, a diabetic person with a low level of blood sugar can lead to a loss of consciousness, seizures, or may even cause death. So, it’s always best to regularly check your glucose levels, just in case.

What are the signs when you have high blood sugar?

Generally speaking, diabetic people should go straight to the ER if their glucose levels go up to 400 mg/dL or higher. According to Ikram Tarugu, a gastroenterologist and CEO of Detox of South Florida, some patients with elevated blood sugar levels can have frothy, ketone-like smelling breath too. Here are the symptoms that indicate your blood sugar is too high:

• Urinating often during both daytime and nighttime.
• Feel thirsty from losing water due to urinating often
• Get tired and lose weight quickly because the body cannot use sugar in the bloodstream
• Get hungry more often
• Get infected easily and maybe have leucorrhoea
• Get blurred vision
• Feel numb in legs

If you have 3 or more of the symptoms above, you should go check your blood sugar levels. In case you have diabetes, you will get treated in time.

Good tips for people with diabetes

In case you already have diabetes, it is always good to be more strict with your diet. Hence, we listed the best tricks for diabetics below:

• Follow the doctor’s instructions for taking your drugs.
• Try to eat whole, low-sugar, and eat less processed foods to maintain the level of glucose in the bloodstream at a minimum.
• If you have diabetes type 1, you might have a high ketone %, and doing some exercise will help reduce the ketone level in your blood.
• Drink plenty of water to reduce sugar in your urine.
• Make adjustments to the insulin dosage. When your blood sugar levels rise or fall, your healthcare provider will assist you in determining the proper insulin dosages.

What could happen to you when blood sugar is low?

As we mentioned before, having a low blood glucose level can result in several negative symptoms:

• hunger
• moodiness
• stuttering voice
• anxiety
• attention problems
• drowsiness
• headaches
• visual hallucinations

Symptoms vary from one person to another and they can go unnoticed in some situations. If you realize that your glucose level is low, you can eat a few things that will help you regain some sugar in your blood: 2 cubes of sugar, 2 small candies, a banana, an orange, or a can of soda can also do the trick.

Once you ingested some sugar, lay down comfortably. If you don’t feel better within 15 minutes, we recommend you see a doctor right away.

Blood sugar testing

If you were wondering if could have diabetes, or that you are just curious, know that there is a way to see for yourself what your blood sugar level is without going to the hospital. You can simply get a self-testing blood sugar kit from an online shopping site or you can get it from the pharmacy as well.

Besides, those only take one drop of your blood to give you the results, and some test kits can also test your ketone level, 2 birds one stone like they say! Here are the general steps to check your insulin level with a blood sugar meter:

• Wash and dry your hand beforehand
• Put the test strip in the meter
• Use a clean needle to prick your fingertip
• Drop your blood on the test strip
• The result will show on screen in a few seconds

In conclusion, the related symptoms might sound frightening at first. That said, the important thing to remember is that the possibility of these ever happening can be reduced by maintaining good blood glucose levels at all times.