Hyperglycemia is a condition that is quite common among people nowadays. This can be caused due to lifestyle patterns such as unhealthy dietary habits, lack of regular workouts, sedentary lifestyle, alcoholism, and so on. This condition increases the sugar level found in the blood of the patient. It is also known as high blood sugar or high blood glucose. People with hyperglycemia have an elevated risk of getting infected with diabetes sooner or later.
Hence, it is important to have a check on your blood sugar levels and control this condition as early as possible. Even if you are eating healthy and working out regularly, this condition can still happen to you if the amount of insulin hormone in your body is way too little or if the body becomes inefficient in utilizing the hormone in the right way. Either way, it may lead to hyperglycemia or diabetes. In this article, you can have comprehensive knowledge about this health condition, its major causes and symptoms, the methods that are effectively used to diagnose the condition, the proven methods of treating it, and also some of the best preventive measures.
Hyperglycemia: Symptoms
1. Increased thirst and appetite
If you are experiencing a significant spike in your hunger and thirst levels, this might be due to the increased sugar levels in your blood.
2. Frequent urge to pee
People with hyperglycemia also complain about the frequent urge to urinate. Hence, if you are experiencing the same difficulty, it is better to get the test as soon as possible.
3. Headache
Headache is also one of the prominent symptoms of patients who have an increased blood sugar level.
4. Blurred vision
An increased blood sugar level may also reduce the clarity of your vision, even if you do not have any related sight-related disorders.
5. Fatigue
If you are getting exhausted too soon while doing physical activities or even without doing anything, you may be having an increased blood sugar level.
Hyperglycemia: Causes
Insulin resistance
Insulin resistance happens when the human body becomes incapable of utilising the blood sugar-regulating hormone; Insulin in an effective manner. In such situations, even if the body has a sufficient quantity of insulin, the blood sugar level would remain higher, causing hyperglycemia or diabetes.
Pancreas disorders
Pancreas disorders become another major reason behind an increased blood sugar level found in human beings. The pancreas will not produce the required quantity of insulin hormone, leading to hyperglycemia.
Surgery or pregnancy
These are some of the other causes of hyperglycemia. However, these causes will not cause a temporary spike in blood sugar levels.
Hyperglycemia: Diagnosis and Tests
Blood tests are the primary means through which the condition of hyperglycemia is diagnosed. However, there are different varieties of blood tests performed in order to diagnose the condition. Some of them have been mentioned below.
- Fasting glucose tests
- Glucose tolerance tests
- A1c tests
If you are someone who is more frequently bothered by the sudden spikes in your blood glucose levels, you may also get a glucose meter for yourself and check your levels at home. However, these meters may also show false measurements. Hence, make sure to get your routine checkups done at regular intervals. Tests for hyperglycemia can also diagnose diabetes and its types. All these tests are comparatively easier and can be completed within a matter of hours.
Management and Treatment
Insulin injections
This is one of the most commonly practiced treatment options available as of now, to improve the condition of hyperglycemia. These injections do not require the supervision of a medical professional. Hence the patient would be able to take the bottles home and get it injected all by themselves or with the help of their dear and near ones. However, the doses for each individual would be different. Hence, it is important to consult an expert medical practitioner first-hand and thus get the doses prescribed for you. Apart from that, get to know that these doses cannot be bought over the counter.
Dietary changes
Dietary changes can bring a significant difference to your issue of hyperglycemia. Cut down on carbs, refined sugar, and processed foods. Adding more dietary fiber into your diet and foods that improve insulin sensitivity can also help a lot in the same regard.
Workout on a daily basis
Working can really help with improving your bodily metabolic rate (BMR) and thus convert the extra glucose in your blood into energy that can be burnt out.
Hyperglycemia: Prevention
Routine blood sugar checkups
These checkups are necessary even if you do not have the issue of diabetes. A slightly increasing pattern in your blood sugar level can help you monitor at a very early stage. This can help prevent the worsening of the symptoms of hyperglycemia and stop its development into diabetes. If you have a family history of hyperglycemia or diabetes, it becomes more important to have these routine checkups so that you can make all the possible efforts either to deviate from the pattern or at least to lessen the intensity.
Lifestyle changes
If you are living a sluggish and sedentary life, you have an elevated risk for hyperglycemia and diabetes. Hence make sure that you eat healthy and balanced to prevent such issues. Engaging your body in light-intensity physical workouts can also help to a great extent.
Conclusion
Now you know all the important aspects regarding the issue of increased blood sugar levels or hyperglycemia. The symptoms would help you seek medical help as soon as possible without inviting a complication. Apart from that, the cause would impart you an awareness and help you identify the root causes of the issues. The relatively simpler diagnosis methods may also serve the purpose of an internal push to get the checkups in a timely manner. Understanding the ways through which you can cure and prevent the condition can also be immensely helpful in reducing the medication, injections, and other related issues that come along when the sugar level rises beyond control.
References
- Villegas-Valverde CC, Kokuina E, Breff-Fonseca MC. Strengthening National Health Priorities for Diabetes Prevention and Management. MEDICC Rev. 2018 Oct;20(4):5. [PubMed]
- Rawlings AM, Sharrett AR, Albert MS, Coresh J, Windham BG, Power MC, Knopman DS, Walker K, Burgard S, Mosley TH, Gottesman RF, Selvin E. The Association of Late-Life Diabetes Status and Hyperglycemia With Incident Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The ARIC Study. Diabetes Care. 2019 Jul;42(7):1248-1254. [PMC free article]
