Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is defined as blood sugar less than 70 mg/dL. When blood sugar drops this low you will have symptoms.

You may have one or more of the following:

• Sweaty

• Hungry

• Forgetful

• Shaky

• Rapid Heart Rate

• Nervous

• Drowsy Headache

The best way to treat low blood sugar is the Rule of 15. When your blood sugar is low you should eat 15 grams of carbohydrate and wait 15 minutes. Check your blood sugar again. If your sugar is still under 70 mg/dL, eat another 15 grams of carbohydrate and wait 15 minutes. You should check your blood sugar again at this time. If it is still too low, call for medical assistance.

Examples of 15 grams of carbohydrate:

• 2-4 glucose tablets

• 1 cup skim milk

• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of juice or regular soda

• 1/2 – 1 tube of glucose gel

• 8 Sweet Tarts

• 5-6 hard candies

If you taken insulin or have frequent low blood sugars, you should always carry carbohydrate with you.

Once you have brought your blood sugar up, you should eat a snack. You will especially need a snack if your next meal is not going to be eaten for several hours. A good snack could be ½ a sandwich, 6 crackers with cheese, or toast with peanut butter.

Try to figure out why your blood sugar dropped too low. Did you skip a meal? Do you exercise more than usual? Work to understand why your sugar level dropped too low so you can prevent it from happening again.