When the body does not have enough sugar to use then the person with diabetes gets hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar. This can happen due to particular diet, excessive exercising or some medicines. It is better to consult the doctor with information about the date and time of low blood sugar to manage the condition.

What are the symptoms of low blood sugar?

A person feels the symptoms of hypoglycaemia or low blood sugar when the sugar level in the blood falls to 70 mg/dl or lower. The symptoms in diabetic patients are different. The early symptoms of hypoglycaemia include confusion, dizziness, feeling shaky, hunger, headache, irritability, a pounding heart, racing pulse, pale skin, sweating, trembling, weakness and anxiety.

The severe conditions include:

Poor body coordination

Poor concentration

A numb feeling in the mouth and tongue

Becoming unconscious

Seizures

Sudden nightmares and bad dreams

Coma

Medications can cause hypoglycemia

Some medications can also cause hypoglycaemia. Diabetic medications  commonly used sulfonylurea’s like Am aryl, Glucotrol and Micronase and can at times cause hypoglycaemia. It is seen that some of the older sulfonylureas causes low blood sugar rather than the newer ones.

Similarly the type of insulin and its dosage can also be a reason for sudden hypoglycaemia. All the medications including insulin have to be taken strictly under medical supervision and adjusted according to individual needs by the doctor alone.

One does not get hypoglycaemic if alpha- glycosidase inhibitors like Metformin are used but if they are taken along with sulfonylureas or insulin then hypoglycaemia can happen.

Diet and hypoglycemia

A proper diet is most important for management of sugar levels and it can get upset if you take too much of insulin or medication whereas as you don’t match it with the amount of carbohydrates you eat or drink.

It can happen when you eat a meal that has lot of simple sugars or if you miss a snack or when you don’t eat a full meal and that too on time. If you drink alcohol without eating enough food then too you can get low blood sugar symptoms. Do not skip timely and enough quantity of food or meals when you are taking diabetic medications.

How to prevent hypoglycaemia?

These are the steps that will help to prevent hypoglycaemic conditions to a large extent:

• Follow a proper meal plan
• Eat at least 3 evenly spaced meals with in-between snacks as prescribed
• Each meal should be 4-5 hours apart
• Exercise for 30 to 1 hour only after meals
• Check blood sugar before and after the exercise and let your doctor know about it
• Take care to double check your dose of insulin and medication before you take it
• Drin alcohol in moderation with proper food
• Monitor your blood sugar regularly and let your doctor know about any change
• Carry some identification of having diabetes or info about it so that you may get help during an emergency

There are many factors that induce a sneeze and it may not be the same for two people in the same family. Some people sneeze as they come out of their home on a sunny day, while others get a sneeze when they pop a chewing gum into their mouth. Many people have a fickle nose and start sneezing at the smallest excuse like after an exercise, when plucking the eyebrow or eve after sex.

Here is a glimpse at why these people sneeze at such times and all about why we sneeze at all.

Sneezes start in the nerves

All our nervous system is basically wired in the same way, but signals travelling along the nerves take various paths to and from the brain and thus the different situations in which a person sneezes and others don’t. It is actually a result of a nerve transmission that tells the brain that something is in the nose and needs to come out.

Sneezing keeps the body safe

Sneezing is a vital part of the immune process, helping us keep healthy and free from infections.  A sneeze actually clears the nose of bacteria and viruses and thus protects the body. What happens is, when some foreign body enters our nose it triggers off the ‘sneeze centre’ in our brain, which is located in the lower brain stem. Thereafter signals are rapidly sent to tightly close the throat, eyes and mouth. The chest muscles rapidly close and the throat muscles quickly relax. Instantly air along with saliva and mucus is forced out of the mouth and nose and so finally you have sneezed.

Sneeze has high speed

You will be surprised to know that a sneeze actually travels at about 100 miles per hour. It is estimated that a single sneeze can shoot into the air 100,000 germs.

Plucking eyebrows causes a sneeze

When you pluck your eyebrows a particular nerve in the face that supplies the nasal passage is set off and produces a sneeze.

People don’t sneeze in sleep

People in deep sleep never sneeze, since the sneeze inducing nerves are not stimulated and go to sleep and so there is no sneeze during your sleep.

Exercise makes one sneeze

For some people an exercise session may bring on a sneeze. When a person hyperventilate due to exertion the nose and mouth start to dry up, the nose then starts dripping and this makes you sneeze.

Sunshine makes one sneeze

One out of three people get a sneeze as bright sunlight hits them. These kind of sneezers are called light sneezers or ‘photics’, from Greek for ‘of light’. Light sensitivity is an inherited trait and it is passed on from our parents.

How can you stop a sneeze?

While it may not entirely be a fool-proof solution, breathing through the nose and pinching the end of the nose can stop a sneeze in its tracks.

Headaches are a common occurrence and everyone gets it from time to time. Whereas caffeine is present in everything we eat and drink on a daily basis. Now, is there a connection between caffeine and headache? It is always possible that this very caffeine may be cause and cure for our headache.

Does caffeine help us?

Whenever the head hurts or you get a headache the search is on for some sort of immediate relief. It can be a stress induced headache or a chronic migraine but taking some caffeine gives instant relief. Exactly why, caffeine is an ingredient in most of the popular pain relievers. At times a little bit of caffeinated drink can stop the pain in its tracks.

A special kind of headache known as the hypic headache responds very well to caffeine. These is kind of headache that strikes older people and they wake up in the middle of the night with severe headache. Doctors are known to advise such patients to have a cup of coffee before retiring to bed.

Does caffeine hurt?

Strangely, what makes caffeine effective as a pain reliever is exactly what causes the pain in other cases. Caffeine usually narrows the blood vessels that surround the brain to control pain, when you stop taking it the blood vessels expand again, this causes severe pain.

There is something called the withdrawal symptom. The body gets used to the effects of caffeine and when you don’t have it in the system, you experience withdrawal symptom. The headache you get is one such symptom. This usually happens when you have caffeine regularly, like one cup of coffee ever day.

Caffeine also plays a part in what is known as medication overuse or rebound headache. When you take too much of a pain reliever  often, there is always a risk of medication overuse. Finally when the medicine wears off the pain returns with renewed force. When there is a combination of caffeine with pain relievers, this can easily happen.

What can be done to balance caffeine effects?

Always be aware of the effects of caffeine and control how much you drink or eat substances with caffeine. When you get persistent headache or attacks of migraine then you should cut down on caffeine or stop it altogether. For example, if you are having 2 cups of coffee along with your breakfast, try to reduce it to 1 cup. This should be done gradually because a sudden stop would result in withdrawal syndrome.

Try to remember what give you relief when there is an attack of headache and keep a record of it. Getting a good night’s sleep and drinking plenty of water is recommended. Usually a nutritious diet and regular exercise can go a long way in cancelling out a caffeine induced headache. Managing stress, certain relaxation exercises, meditation and body massage or head massage can be a good remedy instead of using caffeine.

Stroke is the leading cause of death the world over and it is always a medical emergency. When stroke occurs it is usually caused by a blood vessel bursting in the brain or due to a blockage. When the blood supply is cut-off the cells in the brain quickly begin to die and this results in serious diability or death. A stroke patient should get immediate professional medical help or should reach the nearest hospital.

What are the symptoms of stroke?

There are many symptoms that points to an imminent stroke. If a person has high blood pressure or doctor has warned about a possibility of stroke then extra care should be taken to look out for tell tale signs of stroke. The most common symptoms are listed below:

• Sudden feeling of numbness on one side of the body
• Feeling of weakness of the body especially on one side
• A sudden and severe headache without any reason
• Sudden vision problem in one or both eyes
• Problem in swallowing
• Sudden dizziness, loss of balance etc.
• Feeling confused, difficulty in speaking and understanding

F.A.S.T Test for stroke

To make it easy to recognise the symptoms of a stroke the F.A.S.T test has been devised. Each letter stands for a body part which has to be checked to recognise a stroke and the letter T stands for time which is very critical in saving a stroke patient.

F for Face: Ask the person to smile. Check whether one side is drooping

A for Arms: Ask the person to lift the arms and check if one side drifts down.

S for Speech: Ask the person to repeat a simple word and watch if the person has trouble speaking or has a slur

T for Time: Time is very crucial if you see any of the above signs then rush the patient to the nearest emergency care within four hours.

What are the risk factors?

The risk factors for a stroke includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Lack of exercise, smoking and drinking are the other behavioural causes.

What are the types of stroke?

There are three most recognised type of strokes which includes ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke and mini stroke. The ischemic stroke happens when the blood vessels to the brain get blocked due to a blood clot. The hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel in the brain bursts and the mini stroke is the one that suddenly takes place and causes symptoms similar to an actual stroke, but when the blood flow is restored the symptoms just disappear within 24 hours.

Emergency treatments

When a person suffers a ischemic stroke then medicines are used to restore the blood flow to the brain. A clot busting drug is used within 3-4 hours of a stroke. The hemorrhagic stroke is much more difficult to control where blood pressure, bleeding and brain swelling has to be immediately controlled for saving the patient.

Time is brain

Every minute counts after the onset of stroke. You can lose 2 million brain cells in each minute until blood flows in restored to your brain. Hence knowing the signs of stroke and getting help quickly can save one’s life. If anybody near you shows positive F A S T test, bring him to hospital within few hours.