High and Low Blood Sugar Symptoms

High blood sugar is known as hyperglycemia and low blood sugar as hypoglycemia
Knowing and understanding the symptoms of high and low blood sugar should be essential for both
diabetics and their friends and families.

Symptoms of high blood sugar

Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, is common amongst diabetics.
It occurs when a diabetic person eats too much food, and has too little insulin to regulate their blood
sugar. Sometimes stress can cause diabetes.
Being aware of the following symptoms and staying alert for their presence, whether you are a
diabetic or a family member or friend, should be essential:

Need for frequent urination

Drowsiness
Nausea
Extreme hunger and/or thirst
Blurring of the vision

Symptoms of low blood sugar

Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, occurs when a diabetic has not eaten enough food, or has too
much insulin within his or her body.
An excessive amount of exercise can also cause low blood sugar levels.

Be aware of low blood sugar symptoms

Being aware of the following symptoms and staying alert for their presence, whether you are a
diabetic or a family member or friend, should be essential:

Shaking
Fast heartbeat
Sweating
Anxiety
Dizziness
Extreme hunger
Weakness and tiredness
Irritability

Why do these symptoms matter for diabetics?

These symptoms are essential for diabetics to understand, because they may encounter high or low
blood sugar levels from time to time.
A cold or virus can cause sudden high blood sugar levels, and understand the symptoms means
knowing how to deal with hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
People with diabetes who can recognise the symptoms can avoid levels that lead to medical
emergencies such as diabetic ketoacidosis.

Knowing your high and low blood sugar symptoms allows you
to test
Once you understand symptoms of high and low blood sugar, it is possible to test quickly and avoid
serious problems.
Keeping to a clear target range is one of the key goals of diabetes management, and knowing when
you have the symptoms of high or low blood sugar levels allows you to test your blood sugar and
make a correction.

Blood Sugar Level Ranges

Blood glucose ranges for adults and children differ slightly

Understanding blood glucose level ranges can be a key part of diabetes self-management.
This page states 'normal' blood sugar ranges and blood sugar ranges for adults and children with
type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and blood sugar ranges to determine people with diabetes.
If a person with diabetes has a meter, test strips and is testing, it's important to know what the blood
glucose level means.
Recommended blood glucose levels have a degree of interpretation for every individual and you
should discuss this with your healthcare team.
In addition, women may be set target blood sugar levels during pregnancy.
The following ranges are guidelines provided by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
(NICE) but each individuals target range should be agreed by their doctor or diabetic consultant.

Recommended target blood glucose level ranges

The NICE recommended target blood glucose levels are stated below for adults with type 1
diabetes, type 2 diabetes and children with type 1 diabetes.
In addition, the International Diabetes Federation's target ranges for people without diabetes is
stated. [19] [89] [90]
The table provides general guidance. An individual target set by your healthcare team is the one you
should aim for.

NICE recommended target blood glucose level ranges

At least 90 minutes after
meals
(post prandial)
Non-diabetic*
4.0 to 5.9 mmol/L
under 7.8 mmol/L
Type 2 diabetes
4 to 7 mmol/L
under 8.5 mmol/L
Type 1 diabetes
5 to 7 mmol/L
4 to 7 mmol/L
5 to 9 mmol/L
Children w/ type 1 diabetes 4 to 7 mmol/L
4 to 7 mmol/L
5 to 9 mmol/L
*The non-diabetic figures are provided for information but are not part of NICE guidelines.
Target Levels
by Type

Upon waking

Before meals
(pre prandial)

Normal and diabetic blood sugar ranges

For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows:
Between 4.0 to 6.0 mmol/L (72 to 108 mg/dL) when fasting
Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating
For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are as follows:
Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/L for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
After meals: under 9 mmol/L for people with type 1 diabetes and under 8.5mmol/L for
people with type 2 diabetes

Blood sugar levels in diagnosing diabetes

The following table lays out criteria for diagnoses of diabetes and prediabetes.

Blood sugar levels in diagnosing diabetes

Plasma glucose test
Normal
Prediabetes
Random
Below 11.1 mmol/l
N/A
Below 200 mg/dl
Fasting
Below 6.1 mmol/l
6.1 to 6.9 mmol/l
Below 108 mg/dl
108 to 125 mg/dl
2 hour post-prandial Below 7.8 mmol/l
7.8 to 11.0 mmol/l
Below 140 mg/dl
140 to 199 mg/dl

Diabetes
11.1 mmol/l or more
200 mg/dl or more
7.0 mmol/l or more
126 mg/dl or more
11.1 mmol/l or more
200 mg/dl or more

Random plasma glucose test

A blood sample for a random plasma glucose test can be taken at any time. This doesnt require as
much planning and is therefore used in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes when time is of the essence.

Fasting plasma glucose test

A fasting plasma glucose test is taken after at least eight hours of fasting and is therefore usually
taken in the morning.
The NICE guidelines regard a fasting plasma glucose result of 5.5 mmol/l as putting someone at
higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, particularly when accompanied by other risk factors for
type 2 diabetes.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

An oral glucose tolerance test involves taking a first taking a fasting sample of blood and then
taking a very sweet drink containing 75g of glucose.
After having this drink you need to stay at rest until a further blood sample is taken after 2 hours.

HbA1c test for diabetes diagnosis

An HbA1c test does not directly measure the level of blood glucose, however, the result of the test
is influenced by how high or low your blood glucose levels have tended to be over a period of 2 to 3
months.
Indications of diabetes or prediabetes are given under the following conditions:
Normal: Below 42 mmol/mol (6.0%)
Prediabetes: 42 to 47 mmol/mol (6.0 to 6.4%)
Diabetes: 48 mmol/mol (6.5% or over)