To help a diabetic, it’s important to know if it’s an episode of excess blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or lack of blood sugar (hypoglycemia), as both situations can occur.
Hyperglycemia is more common in diabetics who are not receiving adequate treatment or diet, while hypoglycemia is more common in people who are on insulin eating or who have been without food for a long time, for example.
- If possible.
- The first thing you should do is monitor the person’s blood sugar level.
- With a suitable device to measure the amount of blood sugar.
- In general.
- Values below 70 mg/dL indicate hypoglycaemia and values well above 180 mg/dL may indicate hyperglycemia.
- Especially if the person has not finished eating.
When blood sugar levels are high, also called hyperglycemia, the device value will indicate values greater than 180 mg/dL, fasting, or higher than 250 mg/dL, at any time of the day.
In addition, the person may experience confusion, excessive thirst, dry mouth, fatigue, headaches and shortness of breath. In these cases, you must:
If you do not have an emergency insulin syringe, it is recommended that you call a doctor immediately or take the person to the hospital to receive the appropriate dose of insulin.
In addition, if insulin is given, it is important to monitor the value of blood sugar during the next hour, as there is a risk that the value will decrease significantly if the insulin dose has been higher than necessary. If the value falls below 70 mg/dL, it is important to put sugar directly into the cheeks and under the tongue, so that the value increases and stabilizes.
When your blood sugar level is low, called hypoglycemia, the device has blood sugar levels below 70 mg/dL and people often show signs such as tremors, cold skin, sweating, paleness or fainting. In these cases, it is important to:
When your blood sugar is low for a long time, the person may be heart-imperan d’in. Therefore, if you notice that the person is not breathing, you should call a doctor and start a heart massage quickly. Here’s how to do a cardiac massage:
In addition to more serious situations, such as hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia, there are also other first aid that is important in everyday situations, which may pose an increased risk of complications for diabetics, such as a skin injury or a twisting of the foot. Like what.
When the diabetic is injured, it is important to take good care of the wound, because even if it is small and superficial, the diabetic’s wound is more likely to have complications such as ulcers or infections, especially when it occurs in wetter or suffocating places. such as feet, skin folds or groin, for example.
During treatment, it is important to be careful to avoid infections and:
Thus, it is ideal to keep the wound clean, dry and away from situations that may aggravate the wound, especially until the healing is complete.
In addition to caring for the wound, it is also critical to be attentive to certain signs that indicate the development of complications, such as redness, swelling, severe pain or pus in the area. In these cases, it is recommended to see your family doctor.
When the wound is very small, but takes more than a month to heal, it is advisable to go to a nursing office to assess the need for a more specialized treatment, with dressings that favor healing.
If the diabetic twists his foot or other joint, he should stop physical activity and avoid forcing the affected area, as well as avoid walking for a long time and climbing stairs, for example.
Also, keep your foot elevated to promote circulation and place ice in the affected area for 20 minutes, twice a day, remembering to wrap the ice in a damp cloth to avoid burning the skin.
Torsion usually causes swelling and pain, and can make the area warmer and with purple spots. In the most severe cases, where there is severe pain and swelling that does not improve, a doctor should be consulted to evaluate the severity of the injury and look for a fracture.
Your doctor should be contacted in the following situations
In the most severe cases, when these signs are ignored and proper treatment is not performed, the affected tissue may suffer necrosis, which occurs when the area does not receive enough oxygen and the tissues die, it may be necessary to amputate the affected. Member.
In these cases, you should quickly call for medical care by calling 192.