Does Hot Weather Make Your Blood Sugar Go Low?

When temperatures begin rising, it’s possible you’ll wrestle to maintain your blood sugars inside a wholesome vary. 

However does sizzling climate really make your blood sugars go low, or does it simply really feel that method? 

This text will clarify the connection between sizzling climate and low blood sugar ranges. 

What causes blood sugars to go low?

Taking insulin could make blood sugar ranges go low. 

If this occurs, it will possibly imply that you just’ve taken an excessive amount of insulin for the meals you’ve eaten, otherwise you nonetheless have energetic insulin in your system earlier than exercising. 

Low blood sugar may also happen should you’ve forgotten to eat or should you expertise hormonal adjustments that will make your physique extra insulin delicate and vulnerable to low blood sugar ranges.  

When folks with diabetes take insulin, it’s a fixed balancing act of figuring out how a lot insulin they’ll want for the actions they do and the meals they eat. This may be difficult! 

Experiencing low blood sugar ranges is widespread when you’ve got diabetes. It’s a part of on a regular basis life. 

The typical particular person with kind 1 diabetes experiences two episodes of low blood sugar per week. 

If you don’t take insulin exogenously in your diabetes administration, you should still expertise low blood sugar ranges from intervals of fasting, consuming decrease carbohydrate meals, in depth train, and common hormonal adjustments. 

Nevertheless, you’re not as vulnerable to low blood sugar ranges, and whenever you do expertise low blood sugar, they’re much less prone to be extreme. 

What are the signs of low blood sugar?

It’s important to know the indicators and signs of low blood sugar ranges. These embody:

• Shakiness
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Sweating
• Speedy coronary heart charge 
• Nervousness
• Starvation
• Hassle concentrating
• Irritability 

The signs of extreme low blood sugar embody:

• Slurred speech
• Confused considering
• Unconsciousness 
• Seizures
• Coma
• In uncommon situations, loss of life 

Name 911 if somebody you recognize is experiencing severely low blood sugar.

Administer glucagon to assist stop coma and loss of life. 

That is thought-about a medical emergency that wants speedy consideration {and professional} medical assist. 

Does summer season warmth make blood sugars go low?

It could look like warmth and humidity make your blood sugars crash, however that can solely be doable when you’ve got energetic insulin in your system. 

Warmth can, nevertheless, trigger your blood vessels to dilate. 

This will increase insulin absorption, resulting in decrease blood sugar ranges, and in some instances, a blood sugar crash. 

You might be extra prone to expertise low blood sugar ranges should you’re exterior within the warmth and humidity with energetic insulin on board.

This may additionally occur whenever you enter a sizzling tub, sauna, take a sizzling bathe, or when your physique temperature rises from train. 

Stopping low blood sugar within the warmth 

There are a number of key methods to assist stop low blood sugar episodes from taking place within the warmth. 

You might not be capable of stop all low blood sugars, however utilizing the next methods might assist:

• It’s best to remain out of the warmth and humidity throughout the hottest occasions of the day
• If you’re in sizzling water, corresponding to a sizzling tub or bathe, be sure you should not have a variety of insulin in your system
• Eat an additional snack earlier than going out into the warmth, ideally one thing with fats and protein to assist maintain your blood sugar degree 
• Drink loads of water so that you don’t get dehydrated
• All the time double-check the quantity of insulin you’re injecting twice earlier than you are taking it
• Depend carbohydrates so you could have a greater sense of how your snacks and meals will have an effect on your blood sugar ranges 
• Put on a steady glucose monitor that may carefully monitor your blood sugar ranges and you’ll deal with low blood sugar earlier than it turns into harmful 
• Keep away from consuming alcohol, which is understood to trigger low blood sugar
• Maintain an additional snack close by to deal with any emergency low blood sugar ranges and carry glucagon wherever you go

What’s dangerously low blood sugar? 

Low blood sugar could be harmful at any degree. Nevertheless, some persons are in a position to perform usually with decrease blood sugars, whereas others can’t. 

Something beneath 40 mg/dL is taken into account a severely-low blood sugar degree and places you at the next danger for seizures, diabetic coma, and loss of life. 

This extreme low blood sugar requires speedy remedy with fast-acting glucose (like orange juice or sugar), or injectable glucagon if the particular person can’t chew or swallow. 

Name 911 after administering glucagon if the particular person has a low blood sugar beneath 40 mg/dL.

What do I do if I can’t get my blood sugar up?

The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) suggest treating low blood sugar ranges with the 15-15 rule.

This entails consuming or consuming 15 grams of carbohydrates and testing your blood sugar after quarter-hour to see if it has risen. 

The CDC recommends repeating the method till your blood sugar is in a wholesome vary. 

In the event you’re in a position to eat and drink, preserve doing this till your blood sugar has risen. 

Some examples of snacks which have 15 grams of carbohydrates embody:

• 4 ounces of juice or common soda 
• One tablespoon of sugar, honey, or syrup
• Three to 4 glucose tablets
• One tube of glucose gel 

Nevertheless, when you’ve got a variety of insulin in your system otherwise you’re unable to chew or swallow, that is when you must administer emergency injectable glucagon and name 911 for medical assist. 

Can low blood sugar be lethal?

Sadly, sure. 

Many individuals who lose consciousness and fall right into a diabetic coma from low blood sugar expertise mind harm and generally loss of life. That is uncommon, nevertheless it does occur. 

That is why it’s essential to deal with low blood sugars promptly earlier than they change into harmful.

All the time examine your blood sugar earlier than, throughout, and after you eat and train—particularly throughout sizzling climate and the summer season warmth.  

How can I keep wholesome in the summertime warmth? 

It’s doable to remain wholesome in the summertime warmth. 

The next ideas might assist:

• Keep hydrated by consuming loads of water (being dehydrated will increase the chance that you just’ll expertise excessive blood sugar)
• All the time put on sunscreen
• Put on a hat
• Keep within the shade
• Monitor your blood sugar ranges, particularly earlier than, throughout, and after train 
• Purpose to train indoors, ideally in air-conditioning 
• All the time carry emergency low snacks with you 
• All the time carry glucagon with you 
• Put on mild, loose-fitting clothes that’s breathable 
• Maintain your medicines, particularly insulin, in a cool place (by no means go away insulin in a sizzling automotive) 
• Maintain your diabetes provides, together with steady glucose screens (CGM) and insulin pump provides, in a cool, dry place