How to Recognize Signs of Hyperglycemia

One of several conditions of diabetes is hyperglycemia, which is too much sugar or glucose circulating in the blood, rather than being absorbed by the body. It is a problem that type 1 diabetics may encounter if they do not administer enough insulin. Type 2 diabetics can also experience hyperglycemia if their body has enough insulin, but it is not processing it properly.

When hyperglycemia occurs, there are very obvious warning signs. It's important to act fast when these signs are present to avoid further complications, among them harm to organs in your body, damage to nerves and blood vessels, and a diabetic coma.

They key to hyperglycemia is to detect it and treat it early. Here are the recognizable signs of hyperglycemia.

Things You'll Need

• Home urine testing kit

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Instructions

Hyperglycemia Warning Signs

• 1

  Frequent urination begins to occur. While this can happen if you drink more caffeinated beverages or water than usual, diabetics should err on the side of caution. It could be a sign that glucose is not being properly absorbed by your body and is being filtered through your kidneys. Use a home urine test kit, which comes with testing strips, to check for high levels of sugar in the urine. Within seconds, the test strip will turn a color. Compare the color with the color guide on the test strip container to determine your glucose level.

• 2

  There is increased thirst. Drinking water or other liquids more than usual without your thirst being quenched is a common, early sign of hyperglycemia. So is dry mouth. This is a result of your body recognizing that a higher than normal amount of water is being lost through frequent urination.

• 3

  There is an increase in appetite. If you find that you are hungry more frequently, this could be a sign of hyperglycemia. Rather than your body's cells absorbing the proper amount of glucose necessary to fuel your body, the glucose is flowing throughout the blood. As a result, your body is not receiving the energy it needs, so you feel hungry all the time. Conversely, fast weight loss without a change in diet is also a sign of hyperglycemia when glucose levels have been high for some time.

• 4

  Vision becomes blurred. This is another sign of hyperglycemia that results from damage caused to the small blood vessels in the eye. This condition can be accompanied by headaches or problems with concentrating or focusing.