Blood is called fluid mobile tissue inside the body. It continuously moves in a vicious circle of veins and blood vessels, performing many useful functions. Blood has many indicators, and one of them is glycemia. What it is? What are its symptoms and treatment? You will find all the answers in this article.
Glycemia - what is it?
The human body is a complex system. One of the most important concepts for him is glycemia. What it is? The word is of Greek origin and includes two parts, translated as: “blood” and “sweet”. In other words, glycemia is the most important variable in a living organism that can be regulated and denotes the content of glucose in the blood - carbohydrate, which is the most important and universal source of energy for cells and tissues (more than 50% of the energy that is consumed by the body is produced by oxidizing it substances).
A prerequisite for this indicator is sustainability. Otherwise, the brain simply ceases to function properly. What is the normal threshold for such an organism characteristic as glycemia? The norm is from 3.4 to 5.5 mmol per liter of blood.
If the blood glucose level drops to a critical point or rises sharply, then a person may lose consciousness, begin to cramp. Coma is a particularly difficult result of raising or lowering sugar levels.
The term "glycemia"
In the XIX century, a physiologist from France, Claude Bernard, to describe the indicator of glucose or sugar in the blood of a living organism, proposed the described term.
Glycemia levels can be normal, elevated, or decreased. The limits of normal blood sugar concentration are from 3.5 to 5.5 mmol / l.
The correct mode of operation of the brain and the whole organism depends on the stability of this indicator. If the blood glucose level is low, then they speak of hypoglycemia, and if it is higher than normal, they speak of hyperglycemia. Both of these conditions are dangerous, because going beyond critical coefficients is fraught for a person with fainting and even coma.
Glycemia: Symptoms
If the concentration of glucose in the blood is within normal limits, then the symptoms of glycemia do not appear, because the body copes well with the loads and functions properly. The most diverse pathologies appear only when the norm is violated.
Increased and decreased glycemia: what is it?
If the numbers of the permissible value are exceeded, then hyperglycemia manifests itself. This condition is primarily consistent with people with diabetes. Due to the lack of their own insulin, the sugar coefficient rises in the blood of these patients after eating.
And its lack in the body is called hypoglycemia. It should be noted that this condition is also characteristic of perfectly healthy people with a strict diet or excessive physical exertion. In addition, patients with diabetes can also suffer from hypoglycemia if there is an overdose of a sugar-lowering drug or the dosage of insulin is incorrectly selected.
Hyperglycemia
Sugar glycemia with elevated glucose levels is called hyperglycemia. Her symptoms may be as follows:
- itchy skin;
- intense thirst;
- irritability;
- frequent urination;
- fast fatiguability;
- in severe cases, loss of consciousness or coma may occur.
Hypoglycemia
If there is not enough blood sugar, then this is called hypoglycemia. Among her symptoms are:
- a strong feeling of hunger;
- violation of the general coordination of movements;
- general weakness;
- dizziness;
- nausea;
- possible loss of consciousness or coma.
How to determine the level of glycemia?
There are two main ways to determine your blood sugar. The first is a glucose tolerance test, the second is a glucose concentration measurement using a blood test.
The first indicator that doctors identify is a violation of fasting glycemia, but it does not always indicate the presence of a disease. This is a very common method, which consists in determining the amount of sugar in capillary blood after fasting for eight hours. Blood is taken from the finger in the morning after sleep.
IHF (impaired fasting glycemia) is a condition where glucose contained in fasting blood (plasma) plasma is above the normal level, but below the threshold value, which is a diagnostic sign of diabetes mellitus. For example, a boundary value of 6.4 mmol / L is considered.
Remember that in order to confirm forecasts and make accurate diagnoses, you need to conduct such studies at least two times. They should be carried out on different days in order to eliminate situational errors. In addition, to obtain reliable results, it is important not to take hormonal drugs.
An additional study is the sugar tolerance test. As a rule, it is carried out to clarify the diagnoses. In this test, the procedure is as follows:
- a standard blood test for fasting glucose is performed;
- the test person takes 75 grams of glucose orally (usually in the form of an aqueous solution);
- two hours later, a second sampling and blood test is performed.
The obtained indicators are considered normal if they do not reach 7.8 mmol / L. A typical symptom of diabetes is a glucose concentration in excess of 10.3 mmol / L. With an indicator of 10.3 mmol / l, they suggest undergoing additional examinations.
Glycemia: what to do?
If necessary, the doctor prescribes treatment for glycemia.
However, with this disease, the most important thing is to follow a proper diet. Patients with diabetes must pay special attention and caution to such characteristics of food as the glycemic index. The key to well-being is eating low-index foods.
No less important is the diet. In case of hyperglycemia, and in case of hypoglycemia, it is necessary to consume complex carbohydrates (products that are absorbed longer in the body and at the same time provide it with energy for a long period of time), there is often, but little by little. Also, foods should be limited in fats and high in protein.
Glycemia: treatment
If you have a violation of glycemia, treatment is prescribed by your doctor. The basis of all therapeutic actions is the adjustment of the patient’s lifestyle. In severe cases, the use of medications is possible. Dieting is a fundamental factor in the treatment of glycemia.
People with diabetes need to be more selective in their food choices: only foods that have a low glycemic index should be consumed. And with high and low glucose levels, you need to adhere to a fractional diet: eat a little, but often.
From the menu you should completely eliminate the “bad” carbohydrates (for example, white flour products and sugar) and limit the amount of fat. The basis of the diet should be complex carbohydrates - substances that provide the body with energy for a sufficiently long time. Also, there should be a sufficient amount of protein in food.
Properly organized physical activity and further weight loss is an equally important factor in the treatment of glycemia.
Often, signs of a violation of the amount of sugar in the blood do not appear at all or are associated with other diseases and are detected randomly. In such situations, you can not refuse treatment, even if the patient is subjectively well. It should be noted that sometimes glycemia is caused by heredity, and people who are predisposed to such diseases are recommended to regularly do a blood test.