What is hypoglycemia in children

For those who have symptoms of hypoglycemia and do not have diabetes, the underlying disorder is diagnosed by:. Specific treatment for hypoglycemia depends on the specific cause of the hypoglycemia and will be determined by your child's doctor based on:. For children with hypoglycemia conditions, the goal of treatment is to maintain a safe blood glucose level. This involves testing blood glucose often, learning to recognize oncoming symptoms and treating the condition quickly, based on instructions given by your child's doctor.

To treat low blood glucose immediately, your child should eat or drink something that has sugar in it, such as orange juice, milk, cake icing, glucose gel or glucose tablets. Hypoglycemia in Children. Contact Us Online. What is low blood sugar or hypoglycemia? Symptoms may include: Palpitations Shakiness Dizziness Sweating Hunger Headache Irritability Pale skin color Sudden moodiness or behavior changes, such as crying for no apparent reason Clumsy or jerky movements Difficulty paying attention, or confusion Loss of consciousness Seizure The symptoms of hypoglycemia may resemble other problems or medical conditions.

For those who have symptoms of hypoglycemia and do not have diabetes, the underlying disorder is diagnosed by: Measuring blood glucose and other metabolic fuels such as lactate and ketones, and hormone levels while the child is experiencing the symptoms. Some patients with hypoglycemia must be admitted to the hospital to undergo a supervised fasting study to reproduce the low blood sugar episode and to safely collect the needed blood tests.

Specific treatment for hypoglycemia depends on the specific cause of the hypoglycemia and will be determined by your child's doctor based on: Your child's age, overall health and medical history Extent of the disorder Your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures or therapies Expectations for the course of the disorder Your opinion or preference For children with hypoglycemia conditions, the goal of treatment is to maintain a safe blood glucose level. When blood sugar levels are low, the goal is to get them back up quickly.

To do that, give your child sugar or sugary foods that raise the blood glucose level quickly. In general, treatment for hypoglycemia involves:. For more severe cases of hypoglycemia in which seizures or loss of consciousness happen, giving sugar by mouth may be very difficult or even dangerous. In that case, a glucagon injection should be given. Glucagon is a hormone that helps raise blood sugar levels quickly. Treatment with glucagon should be given as soon as severe hypoglycemia is suspected and not delayed to call a doctor or ambulance.

After receiving glucagon, a child should wake up within about 10 to 15 minutes and be able to take sugar or food by mouth to help prevent the blood sugar from falling again. Call if your care team has advised you to do so at this point.

Call the doctor after any severe low blood sugar reaction requiring glucagon treatment — it could be a sign that the diabetes management plan needs to be changed to help prevent future hypoglycemia episodes.

When possible, adult family members and your child's caregivers and school staff should know:. Your doctor can prescribe a glucagon kit, which should be kept where you and your child's caregivers can easily find it. By knowing what causes low blood sugar levels and being prepared, you and your child can make them less likely and help prevent severe symptoms.

Remember: You can't turn off the action of insulin once it's been injected. So to avoid low blood sugar episodes, insulin doses need to be matched to your child's needs each day — taking meals , exercise , and other things into consideration. No matter how careful parents and children are, kids with diabetes at some point will have episodes of low blood sugar.

Besides identifying your child as having diabetes, this can provide emergency contact information. If you have any questions about how to prevent or treat low blood sugar levels, call your child's doctor or diabetes health care team.

Seekford, ARNP. While the body is quite good at extracting glucose from the foods we eat, it relies on a hormone called insulin to actually get the glucose inside the cells of specific organs: the liver, fat, and muscle. Hypoglycemia is most common in newborns. In the majority of cases, hypoglycemia is temporary, easily treated, and usually does not have serious consequences. There are several rare disorders in which hypoglycemia is recurrent and potentially life-threatening.

However, with timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment , these can be effectively managed. A venous blood gas and other diagnostic blood tests are important to identify an underlying cause but should not delay management. The effectiveness of oral dextrose gel for the treatment of neonatal hypoglycaemia remains unclear.

Evid Based Nurs. Hypoglycemia in critically ill children. J Diabetes Sci Technol. Oral dextrose gel to prevent hypoglycaemia in at-risk neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev.

Oral dextrose gel for the treatment of hypoglycaemia in newborn infants. Maternity and Neonatal Clinical Guideline: Neonatal hypoglycaemia. Rozance P. Management and outcomes of neonatal hypoglycemia. Up to Date.