Hyperglycemic coma occurs in diabetic people with non-compliance with therapeutic treatment and an unhe althy lifestyle.
What is this?
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the main hormone of the pancreas, insulin, is not produced. It is he who is involved in the conversion of incoming sugar into glucose. When sugar accumulates in the human body, it is excreted through the urine. To prevent this from happening, patients with diabetes have to inject insulin intramuscularly.
If the dosage is not followed or the diet is not correct, blood sugar levels may rise. And when the concentration reaches the limit, hyperglycemic coma occurs. Emergency assistance, the algorithm of actions in which can save a person, must be provided immediately. But in medicine, hyperglycemic coma is distinguished in people who do not have diabetes. They can be attributed to the risk zone for this disease. After all, an increase in blood sugar is the firstsigns of a malfunctioning pancreas.
These include patients with cirrhosis of the liver, tumors of the endocrine system, poor digestion of carbohydrate food.
Causes of occurrence
After diagnosing a person with diabetes, an injection schedule is drawn up. The dosage is selected, as a rule, permanently, under the supervision of doctors. The patient must strictly observe the dosage and adhere to the established schedule. Skipping insulin injections threatens to raise blood sugar, as a result of which emergency care will be needed for hyperglycemic coma.
It is important to follow a diet in nutrition, do not eat fatty, fried, smoked, s alty, do not drink alcohol. Replace sugar-containing products with special diabetic products, where fructose is used. Deviating from a diet can trigger a spike in blood sugar.
After the injection, the patient must eat. Diabetics are prescribed fractional meals. If you do not adhere to this rule, then again, an increase in glucose is possible.
Signs of a coma
Emergency care for hyperglycemic coma is extremely important. But first, let's look at its main features.
In medicine, there is a pre-coma state of a patient with diabetes mellitus, which can last one or two days. Key Features:
- general weakness;
- strong feeling of thirst;
- smell of acetone breath;
- dry skin;
- frequent urination;
- pain ineyeballs;
- loss of consciousness.
If you do not pay attention to these signs in time and do not take appropriate measures, then this condition threatens with loss of consciousness, which in some cases leads to death. An increase in blood sugar is accompanied by itching and flaking of the skin, in contrast to a low level. If the patient pays attention to the above signs in time and begins to systematically inject insulin, he will save his life.
First aid
Proper emergency care for hyperglycemic coma can save a person's life. I would like to note right away that only medical workers should provide assistance to a patient in a coma. But, if it so happened that a person lost consciousness, he began to have convulsions, immediately call an ambulance.
Before the arrival of the medical team, put the patient on his side and fix the tongue with a spoon or other long object. This is a necessary step in order to prevent the tongue from sinking in and resulting in suffocation.
If a person has convulsive twitches or convulsions, make sure that he does not hit. To do this, hold the limbs of the patient in the position on the side.
Here's what emergency care for hyperglycemic coma is all about. The algorithm of therapeutic care and hospital treatment will be discussed further.
Clinical treatment
After the arrival of the medical team, urgent admission to the intensive care unit followsdepartment. If the patient has a glucometer, the blood sugar level is measured and the following actions are taken on the spot. Insulin is injected subcutaneously, its dosage is calculated based on the readings of the glucometer, and the patient is hospitalized.
A correctly diagnosed hyperglycemic coma is very important, the symptoms, emergency care in which are radically different from hypoglycemic. With an erroneous diagnosis, you may not have time to save a person.
Already directly in the intensive care unit, a solution of sodium chloride and glucose is injected intravenously. If the patient's condition is moderate, then the dose of insulin is one hundred units, if severe - about one hundred and fifty, and in extremely severe - about two hundred. The insulin that is injected must be short-acting for rapid absorption into the bloodstream.
Also, after diagnosing the respiratory tract and measuring blood pressure, the treatment is selected. In severe cases, the patient is connected to an artificial respiration apparatus. At low pressure, appropriate drugs are administered intravenously.
Pay special attention to your illness
After receiving the diagnosis of "diabetes mellitus" the patient must treat himself with the utmost responsibility. The local endocrinologist explains the principles of self-care. These are timely insulin injections, fractional meals, dieting, blood tests.
It is important to control the level of glucose inblood, for this diabetics use a glucometer. Ideally, take measurements twice a day, in accordance with which to change the dosage of insulin.
Always have a diabetic card with you, which should be in your pocket. This will help in case you need emergency care for hyperglycemic coma. For cases of hypoglycemic coma (low blood sugar levels), have something sweet on hand. It can be honey stick or jam.
Never skip insulin doses, and if this happens, control your sugar level until it stabilizes.
Important information for relatives and loved ones
People who are close to patients with diabetes should know general information about the disease so that emergency care can be provided in time for hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic coma.
If the patient has lost consciousness before your eyes, call an ambulance immediately. And before their arrival, make sure that the tongue does not sunk - in which way, we have already told. It would be useful to measure sugar with a glucometer before the doctors arrive, so as not to waste time and provide assistance faster.
In a state of coma, without assistance, a person can live a maximum of a day. Therefore, pay more attention to loved ones with this disease. Emergency care for hyperglycemic coma in children is no different from that of an adult. Differences are only in the dosage of drugs and the duration of inpatient treatment.
