It can affect people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes , as well as pregnant women with gestational diabetes. It can occasionally affect people who do not have diabetes, but usually only people who are seriously ill, such as those who have recently had a stroke or heart attack , or have a severe infection.
Hyperglycaemia should not be confused with hypoglycaemia , which is when a person's blood sugar level drops too low. The aim of diabetes treatment is to keep blood sugar levels as near to normal as possible. But if you have diabetes, no matter how careful you are, you're likely to experience hyperglycaemia at some point. It's important to be able to recognise and treat hyperglycaemia, as it can lead to serious health problems if left untreated.
Occasional mild episodes are not usually a cause for concern and can be treated quite easily or may return to normal on their own. But hyperglycaemia can be potentially dangerous if blood sugar levels become very high or stay high for long periods. Very high blood sugar levels can cause life-threatening complications, such as:.
Regularly having high blood sugar levels for long periods of time over months or years can result in permanent damage to parts of the body such as the eyes, nerves, kidneys and blood vessels. If you experience hyperglycaemia regularly, speak to your doctor or diabetes care team.
You may need to change your treatment or lifestyle to keep your blood sugar levels within a healthy range. If any one is off, blood sugar levels can be, too. The symptoms of hyperglycemia are similar to those that happen when someone is diagnosed with diabetes, such as:. As part of the diabetes management plan, you'll need to check your child's blood sugar levels multiple times a day with a blood glucose meter. This helps you identify when your child has high blood sugar levels, which don't always cause symptoms.
Someone who isn't testing regularly might have blood sugar levels high enough to damage the body without even realizing it. The HbA1c test can show if someone has been having significant hyperglycemia over time, even though the person may not have had obvious symptoms.
If you find that your child is having a lot of high blood sugar levels, the diabetes health care team may suggest changing the diabetes medicines or meal plan to bring the levels back into a healthy range. In other cases, an equipment issue, like an insulin pump problem or expired insulin, may be the cause. Make sure you contact the diabetes team if your child's blood sugar levels are often above the target range.
Treating high blood sugar levels means correcting their cause. The diabetes health care team will give you specific advice on how to keep your child's blood sugar levels in a healthy range.
But here are some suggestions for managing some causes of hyperglycemia:. A single high blood sugar reading usually isn't cause for alarm — it happens to everyone with diabetes from time to time. However, consistently high blood sugar levels need to be addressed. Insulin lets glucose get into the body's cells. Without enough insulin, the body can't use glucose for energy and starts to use fat for fuel.
This can happen, for example, when someone skips doses of insulin or when the need for insulin suddenly increases for example, due to stress or illness and the doses are not adjusted. When the body uses fat for energy, chemicals called ketones are released into the blood, causing diabetic ketoacidosis DKA. Some of the ketones, like extra glucose, exit the body through urine. But high levels of ketones in the blood can be a problem because they cause the blood to become acidic.
Too much acid in the blood throws off the body's chemical balance. Log in menu Manage Account Search. Donate now. Hyperglycemia High Blood Glucose. Blood Sugar Testing and Control. What causes hyperglycemia? A number of things can cause hyperglycemia: If you have type 1, you may not have given yourself enough insulin. If you have type 2, your body may have enough insulin, but it is not as effective as it should be.
You ate more than planned or exercised less than planned. You have stress from an illness, such as a cold or flu. You have other stress, such as family conflicts or school or dating problems.
You may have experienced the dawn phenomenon a surge of hormones that the body produces daily around a. People with diabetes should self-monitor regularly to catch glucose levels before they reach the stage where they cause symptoms. A person with diabetes can take steps to reduce, prevent, and treat spikes of blood glucose. These steps include:. Managing diabetes is an ongoing and often lifelong endeavor.
A person who has diabetes and especially hyperglycemia should consider wearing a necklace or bracelet that provides information about their condition, as it might impact the administration of other treatments.
The information contained in a medical ID can be life-saving in situations where an individual cannot speak for themselves, such as after a vehicle accident or during severe DKA. Hyperglycemia usually occurs in people with prediabetes or diabetes. The causes of hyperglycemia in people with diabetes include:. Hyperglycemia in people who have not been diagnosed with diabetes is known as nondiabetic hyperglycemia.
It may occur in people who are critically ill or injured , when the body responds to extreme stress with hormonal changes that affect blood sugar levels. Additionally, nondiabetic hyperglycemia can occur in people with certain health conditions, such as pancreatic and hormonal disorders. It can also be a side effect of certain drugs.
This condition occurs in the early morning when certain hormones, such as epinephrine, glucagon, and cortisol, cause the liver to release glucose into the blood. This phenomenon typically occurs around 8 to 10 hours after an individual with diabetes goes to sleep.
However, not all cases of high blood sugar levels in the morning are the result of the dawn phenomenon. Hyperglycemia can also occur as a result of:. Waking up during the night and testing blood sugar can be an effective way to determine whether these peaks are a result of the dawn phenomenon or due to other causes. Hyperglycemia is high levels of blood glucose, while hypoglycemia is low levels of blood glucose. This recommendation can vary from person to person.
Very low blood glucose levels require immediate treatment and can be harmful.
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