What is Hyperglycemia?

Hyperglycemia, or high blood glucose (sugar), is a serious health problem for those with diabetes. Hyperglycemia develops when there is too much sugar in the blood. In people with diabetes, there are two specific types of hyperglycemia that occur:

Fasting hyperglycemia is defined as a blood sugar greater than 90-130 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) after fasting for at least 8 hours. Postprandial or after-meal hyperglycemia is defined as a blood sugar usually greater than 180 mg/dL. In people without diabetes postprandial or post-meal sugars rarely go over 140 mg/dL but occasionally, after a large meal, a 1-2 hour post-meal glucose level can reach 180 mg/dL. Consistently elevated high post-meal glucose levels can be an indicator that a person is at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes

When a person with diabetes has hyperglycemia frequently or for long periods of time as indicated by a high HbA1c blood test, damage to nerves, blood vessels and other body organs can occur. Hyperglycemia can also lead to more serious conditions, including ketoacidosis -- mostly in people with type 1 diabetes -- and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome (HHNS) in people with type 2 diabetes or in people at risk for type 2 diabetes. It's important to treat the symptoms of hyperglycemia promptly to prevent complications from diabetes

What Causes Hyperglycemia in Diabetes?

Hyperglycemia in diabetes may be caused by:

Skipping or forgetting your insulin or oral glucose-lowering medicine Eating too many grams of carbohydrates for the amount of insulin administered or just eating too many grams of carbohydrates in general Eating too much food and having too may calories Infection Illness Increased stress Decreased activity or exercising less than usual Strenuous physical activity

What Are the Symptoms of Hyperglycemia in Diabetes?

It is important to know the early signs of hyperglycemia. If hyperglycemia is left untreated, it may develop into an emergency condition called ketoacidosis (if you have type 1 diabetes) or HHNS (if you have type 2 diabetes). Early signs of hyperglycemia in diabetes include:

Increased thirst

Headaches Difficulty concentrating Blurred vision Frequent urination Fatigue (weak, tired feeling) Weight loss Blood glucose more than 180 mg/dL

Prolonged hyperglycemia in diabetes may result in:

Vaginal and skin infections Slow-healing cuts and sores Decreased vision Nerve damage causing painful cold or insensitive feet, loss of hair on the lower extremities, and/or erectile dysfunction Stomach and intestinal problems such as chronic constipation or diarrhea

What Causes Hyperglycemia in Diabetes?

Hyperglycemia in diabetes may be caused by:

Skipping or forgetting your insulin or oral glucose-lowering medicine Eating too many grams of carbohydrates for the amount of insulin administered or just eating too many grams of carbohydrates in general Eating too much food and having too may calories Infection Illness Increased stress Decreased activity or exercising less than usual Strenuous physical activity

What Are the Symptoms of Hyperglycemia in Diabetes?

It is important to know the early signs of hyperglycemia. If hyperglycemia is left untreated, it may develop into an emergency condition called ketoacidosis (if you have type 1 diabetes) or HHNS (if you have type 2 diabetes). Early signs of hyperglycemia in diabetes include:

Increased thirst Headaches Difficulty concentrating Blurred vision Frequent urination Fatigue (weak, tired feeling) Weight loss Blood glucose more than 180 mg/dL

Prolonged hyperglycemia in diabetes may result in:

Vaginal and skin infections Slow-healing cuts and sores Decreased vision Nerve damage causing painful cold or insensitive feet, loss of hair on the lower extremities, and/or erectile dysfunction Stomach and intestinal problems such as chronic constipation or diarrhea

Hyperglycemia Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Hyperglycemia article. Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer ). See the entire definition of Abnormal Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body. Blood glucose: The main sugar that the body makes from the food in the diet. Glucose is carried through the bloodstream to provide energy to all cells in the body. Cells cannot use glucose without the help of insulin . See the entire definition of Blood glucose

Blood sugar: Blood glucose. See also: High blood sugar; Low blood sugar. Blurred vision: Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine detail. Blurred vision can occur when a person who wears corrective lens is without them. Blurred vision can also be an important clue to eye disease. Carbohydrate: Mainly sugars and starches, together constituting one of the three principal types of nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Carbohydrates can also be defined chemically as neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. See the entire definition of Carbohydrate Carbohydrates: Mainly sugars and starches, together constituting one of the three principal types of nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Carbohydrates can also be defined chemically as neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. See the entire definition of Carbohydrates Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time. See the entire definition of Chronic Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following: An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition." 2. A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition." 3. Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition." 4. As a verb: to cause a change in something so that a response that was previously associated with a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus; to condition a person, as in behavioral conditioning. Constipation: Infrequent (and frequently incomplete) bowel movements. The opposite of diarrhea, constipation is commonly caused by irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis, and medications (constipation can paradoxically be caused by overuse of laxatives). Colon cancer can narrow the colon and thereby cause constipation. The large bowel (colon) can be visualized by barium enema x-rays, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy. Barring a condition such as cancer, high-fiber diets can frequently relieve the constipation. Cuts: Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and dry is all that is required to care for most wounds. Putting alcohol hydrogen peroxide, and iodine into a wound can delay healing and should be avoided. Seek medical care early if you think that you might need stitches. Any delay can increase the rate of wound infection. Any puncture wound through tennis shoes has a high risk of infection and should be seen by your healthcare professional. Any redness, swelling, increased pain, or pus draining from the wound may indicate an infection that requires professional care. Dehydration : Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that cause vomiting or diarrhea may, for example, lead to dehydration. There are a number of other causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise (e.g., in a marathon), kidney disease, and medications (diuretics). See the entire definition of Dehydration Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus . Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name "diabetes" because they are both conditions characterized by excessive urination (polyuria). See the entire definition of Diabetes 1.

Diarrhea : A familiar phenomenon with unusually frequent or unusually liquid bowel movements, excessive watery evacuations of fecal material. The opposite of constipation . The word "diarrhea" with its odd spelling is a near steal from the Greek "diarrhoia" meaning "a flowing through." Plato and Aristotle may have had diarrhoia while today we have diarrhea. There are myriad infectious and noninfectious causes of diarrhea. See the entire definition of Diarrhea Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function. See the entire definition of Dysfunction Endocrinology: The study of hormones , their receptors , the intracellular signalling pathways they invoke, and the diseases and conditions associated with them. See the entire definition of Endocrinology Erectile dysfunction: A common men's health problem characterized by the consistent inability to sustain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse or the inability to achieve ejaculation , or both. Impotence can vary. It can involve a total inability to achieve an erection or ejaculation, an inconsistent ability to do so, or a tendency to sustain only very brief erections. Erectile dysfunction is also called impotence , See the entire definition of Erectile dysfunction Event: A set of outcomes. Cardiovascular events might include a heart attack and gastrointestinal events a GI bleed. The use of the term "event" in medicine comes from probability theory. Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness. Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic and persist. See the entire definition of Fatigue Feet: The plural of foot, both an anatomic structure and a unit of measure. See the entire definition of Feet Glucose: The simple sugar (monosaccharide) that serves as the chief source of energy in the body. Glucose is the principal sugar the body makes. The body makes glucose from proteins, fats and, in largest part, carbohydrates. Glucose is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. Cells, however, cannot use glucose without the help of insulin . Glucose is also known as dextrose. See the entire definition of Glucose Hyperglycemia: A high blood sugar. An elevated level specifically of the sugar glucose in the blood. See the entire definition of Hyperglycemia Hyperosmolar: In biochemistry, pertaining to an osmolar concentration of the body fluids that is abnormally increased. As, for examples, in hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome and hyperosmolar coma. Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person. See the entire definition of Infection Insulin: A natural hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level of the sugar glucose in the blood. Insulin permits cells to use glucose for energy. Cells cannot utilize glucose without insulin. See the entire definition of Insulin Ketoacidosis: A feature of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus characterized by a combination of ketosis and acidosis . Ketosis is the accumulation of substances called ketone bodies in the blood. Acidosis is

increased acidity of the blood. See the entire definition of Ketoacidosis Lancet: A small pointed knife; a surgical instrument with a short, wide, sharp-pointed, two-edged blade; a little knife with a small point. Lancets are used today to prick the skin (a finger, foot, ear lobe, etc.) to obtain a small quantity of capillary blood for testing. See the entire definition of Lancet Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system. Postprandial: After mealtime. A postprandial rise in the blood glucose level is one that occurs after eating. See the entire definition of Postprandial Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.

See the entire definition of Skin Stomach: 1. The sac-shaped digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upper part of the stomach connects to the esophagus, and the lower part leads into the small intestine. See the entire definition of Stomach Stress: Forces from the outside world impinging on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life that can help us learn and grow. Conversely, stress can cause us significant problems. See the entire definition of Stress Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease. See the entire definition of Syndrome Tired: A feeling of a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a sense of weariness and fatigue. See the entire definition of Tired Type 1 diabetes: See Diabetes, type 1. Type 2 diabetes: See Diabetes, type 2. Urine: Liquid waste. The urine is a clear, transparent fluid. It normally has an amber color. The average amount of urine excreted in 24 hours is from 40 to 60 ounces (about 1,200 cubic centimeters). Chemically, the urine is mainly an aqueous (watery) solution of salt (sodium chloride) and substances called urea and uric acid. Normally, it contains about 960 parts of water to 40 parts of solid matter. Abnormally, it may contain sugar (in diabetes), albumen (a protein) (as in some forms of kidney disease), bile pigments (as in jaundice), or abnormal quantities of one or another of its normal components. Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (diet, exercise) or involuntary (illness) circumstances. Most instances of weight loss arise due to the loss of body fat, but in cases of extreme or severe weight loss, protein and other substances in the body can also be depleted. Examples of involuntary weight loss include the weight loss associated with cancer,

malabsorption (such as from chronic diarrheal illnesses ), and chronic inflammation (such as with rheumatoid arthritis).