November 11

I wanted to post about how to deal with a diabetic emergency.
The picture is of a Glucagon Kit. This is to fix a severe low blood sugar. My kit is very very old and actually found it is still close to $100 to get WITH insurance. So I'm still stuck with this old one!
The glucagon kit is the hormone glucagon, which triggers your body to release stored glucose from your body, in powder form and water to dissolve it in. It is pre-measured so you give the whole syringe to someone who is passed out from a low blood sugar.

If any of you have seen the movie Panic Room, one of the intruders has to give the girl this so prevent her from passing out. There were a lot of inaccuracies in that movie though.

If a diabetic is alone with no one to help them, they could give this if their blood sugar is getting too low and they feel they will not be able to eat any glucose or feel they will pass out quickly. It should be given if a diabetic has passed out from a low blood sugar since someone who is passed out may choke on something you put in their mouth.

If someone has used the glucagon kit, they need to call 911 and get an ambulance. Even if they've gotten their blood sugars back up, they will have erratic blood sugars for a while and may need a medical professional there to get control back.

So if you are with a diabetic and they are having a low blood sugar episode you should follow these steps:
1. If they are conscious, get them a snack. Try to go for their glucose tablets or gel if they have them, juice, candy, or even a regular soda.
2. If they are passing out or have already passed out, call 911 immediately and get them somewhere safe until help arrives. Remember to tell them that the person is a diabetic and which type they are.
3. Do a blood sugar test to make sure they are actually low. (Diabetics can still have other medical conditions!) Low is below 70 mg/dl but that number may not cause them to pass out. Like I have said in an earlier post, I've been down to 35 without passing out. It depends on the person.
4. If they have the glucagon kit, you need to follow the directions on the kit.

The steps in using the glucagon kit are:
1. Remove the cap on the vial and wipe the top of the vial with an alcohol swab if it's available.
2. Remove needle cap and inject all of the liquid into the vial of powder. Remove needle.
3. Swirl contents of vial until powder is completely dissolved.
4. Using the syringe, pull out the contents of the vial into the syringe. Adults need the whole syringe where children who weigh less than 45 lbs need only half of the syringe.
5. Clean injection site if you can and inject into the loose tissue of the butt, arm or thigh. Remove needle and put some pressure with a finger over the injection site for a few seconds so that nothing leaks out.

Once emergency services arrive, they will want to know what you have given and a blood sugar if you did one on them.

Don't be afraid to give a diabetic this shot! If they have a severe low blood sugar, this could save their life.

Do not give them insulin if their blood sugar is low, this could easily kill them! Insulin brings blood sugar down. And yes, I do need to mention this because that is one big misunderstanding of non-diabetics that a low blood sugar requires insulin.

I have never had to use one of these and actually had to look at the instructions! I've never had a severe low blood sugar enough to pass out or need a glucagon injection. I hope I never have to either!