OT- Lower fat Chinese meals

[Bob Eager]

Or rub Glucogel on their gums.

Once conscious, feed them Jaffa cakes!

[Moron Watch]

If somebody is lapsing into unconsciosness, as in "he finally mumbled" then I somehow doubt if stuffing bread or pasta into his mouth at that very moment, in the hope he might chew on it, or not as the case may be, is the best course of action to take.

But then of course, unlike you, I haven't had medical training.

HTH

[Simon Mason]

True - when I was working and had a full BUPA MOT, my 18 hours of cycling a week was deemed excessive and I was advised to cut it back to

[The Natural Philosopher]

I didn't do it. His carer did. That was all she had.

[Fredxxx]

I find that surprising. If I was caring for a diabetic, one of the first set of questions I would ask is where do you keep the dextrose tablets.

It doesn't sound as if she was doing her job very well.

[dennis]

Most diabetics that have problems with low sugar keep the sweets in their pocket.

[Chris Hogg]

Dextrose is glucose. The GI for glucose is 100 by definition. Fructose and glucose are isomers, i.e. they have the same chemical analysis but different structures. Fructose rearranges to glucose only slowly. Most glucose-measuring equipment doesn't measure fructose.

The glycemic index (GI) of 'sugar', i.e. sucrose is about 60. For fructose the GI is about 20, and for glucose the GI is 100. So sucrose is the average of fructose and glucose, which is what would be expected, as sucrose splits into equal amounts of fructose and glucose in the stomach under the influence of the acid there.

Some people think that by replacing sugar (sucrose) in their diet with equally-sweet fructose, they can keep their blood glucose down. This is a dangerous misconception. The whole objective of keeping blood glucose under control is because excess glucose attacks the walls of blood vessels, among other things, a process known as glycation. It's particularly apparent in the fine capillaries, such as in the hands, feet and eyes, causing a reduction in blood supply and leading to nerve damage, numbness, and eventually gangrene and amputation, or in the case of eyes, blindness. But fructose does the same, except it goes undetected. Hence substituting fructose for glucose is not a good idea.

A long list of GI's of various foods here

and scroll down to the 60 list, and then down again for the full list.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Of course. My father was a diabetic in the 1950s - and even then carried glucose tablets with him at all times. Think they may have been labelled as energy tablets for sports.

[Chris Hogg]

Dextrosol was one such. Been around a long time. Still available.

[David]

Just to point out that most diabetics (the majority are T2 and not using insulin) are rarely at risk of a hypo although some drugs which stimulate the pancreas can cause a hypo.

I would expect a T1 to have the full kit - tester, insulin pen and emergency glucose.

If they are unconscious dial 999 immediately.

Cheers

Dave R

[Clive George]

The correct answers are :

Glucagon if available. It'll be in an orange box, about 8 inches by one inch by one inch. Instructions on how to mix it up and inject are in the box - it's not terribly hard. Don't get hung up on air bubbles, just inject it.

Glucose injection if you're a medical professional and have it available. This is the fastest and best, and also the hardest.

Liquid sugar, ie honey, golden syrup, jam etc. You're not going to get somebody having a fit to helpfully chew, apart from their own tongue and your fingers if you foolishly put them anywhere near their mouth. You want it to be fast, which means glucose preferably. Starch takes a while.

Once you've got them properly awake (which isn't necessarily the same as when they start responding), if they've had glucagon their reserves will be gone, so feed them. At that point the bread or pasta is an acceptable option, though you probably want some faster sugar first - jelly babies for example.

[Clive George]

In that case, sugar - jelly babies, jam. Not bread or pasta.

[Clive George]

I'd reply "I don't have any" :-)

But I would point you towards other suitable sources of sugar.

[Clive George]

I won't necessarily have the first two with me all the time. Insulin pen if I'm out for a meal, but popping to the shops I won't. Tester has changed a bit since I got a semi-continuous one, so I carry it with me because it's dead easy to test unlike with a finger prick, but I still don't take it all the time, eg going running.

I will have food with me - not necessarily glucose, but something. I'm no longer a child, so the principle that you don't reward hypos with chocolate biscuits doesn't apply to me, so generally that is what I will have, and that does work IME.

Good answer. The little green men will come out with either glucagon or IV glucose. Or possibly both...

[Bob Eager]

We have a T1 diabetic in the family and we always have Jaffa cakes around

- fast sugar and some carbs, at least until something else is organised.

[Clive George]

That would work for me :-)

(We don't have them here because they don't really fit with the way I eat - not enough shelf life for an emergency food, and too fluffy/sugary for a daily thing. But they are nice.)

[spuorgelgoog]

That wouldn't work in my house. The emergency medical Jaffa stores would be raided at 1.07 in the morning when I can't sleep.

Unless they made Kiwi Jaffas of course. They'd be safe.

Owain