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Hypoglycemia
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low
level of blood sugar (glucose)
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Diseases & Conditions
A-Z |
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Hypoglycemia is a condition caused by an
abnormally low level of blood sugar (glucose), your
body's main energy source.
However, a wide variety of health
conditions, many of them rare, can cause low blood
sugar in people without diabetes. Like
fever,
hypoglycemia is merely an indicator of a health
problem.
Among the underlying causes of hypoglycemia in
people without diabetes are certain medications,
alcohol, certain cancers, critical illnesses
including kidney, liver or
heart failure, hormonal
deficiencies, and disorders that result in your body
producing too much insulin. Insulin is the hormone
secreted by your pancreas that regulates your level
of blood sugar.
Fasting Hypoglycemia
Diagnosis
Fasting hypoglycemia is diagnosed from a blood sample that shows a blood
glucose level of less than 50 mg/dL after an overnight fast, between
meals, or after exercise.
Causes and
Treatment
Causes include certain medications, alcohol, critical illnesses,
hormonal deficiencies, some kinds of tumors, and certain conditions
occurring in infancy and childhood.
Medications
Medications, including some used to treat diabetes, are the most common
cause of hypoglycemia. Other medications that can cause hypoglycemia
include
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salicylates,
including aspirin, when taken in large doses
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sulfa
medicines, which are used to treat infections
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pentamidine,
which treats a very serious kind of pneumonia
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quinine, which
is used to treat malaria
If using any of
these medications causes your blood glucose to drop, your doctor may
advise you to stop using the drug or change the dosage.
Alcohol
Drinking, especially binge drinking, can cause hypoglycemia because your
body's breakdown of alcohol interferes with your liver's efforts to
raise blood glucose. Hypoglycemia caused by excessive drinking can be
very serious and even fatal.
Critical
Illnesses
Some illnesses that affect the liver, heart, or kidneys can cause
hypoglycemia. Sepsis (overwhelming infection) and starvation are other
causes of hypoglycemia. In these cases, treatment targets the underlying
cause.
Hormonal
Deficiencies
Hormonal deficiencies may cause hypoglycemia in very young children, but
usually not in adults. Shortages of cortisol, growth hormone, glucagon,
or epinephrine can lead to fasting hypoglycemia. Laboratory tests for
hormone levels will determine a diagnosis and treatment. Hormone
replacement therapy may be advised.
Tumors
Insulinomas, insulin-producing tumors, can cause hypoglycemia by raising
your insulin levels too high in relation to your blood glucose level.
These tumors are very rare and do not normally spread to other parts of
the body. Laboratory tests can pinpoint the exact cause. Treatment
involves both short-term steps to correct the hypoglycemia and medical
or surgical measures to remove the tumor.
Hypoglycemia
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