What may increase your risk for problems from high or low blood sugar?
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What may increase your risk for problems from high or low blood sugar?
Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.
Conditions
- Hypoglycemia unawareness
- Inability to communicate symptoms of high or low blood sugar levels, for example, by a person who has had a stroke
- Inability to identify symptoms of high or low blood sugar levels, for example, by a young child
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal
Medicines
- Medicines that can interfere with whether you develop symptoms of low blood sugar levels. These medicines include heart medications (beta-blockers) such as propranolol (for example, Inderal), nadolol (for example, Corgard), and metoprolol (for example, Lopressor).
- Medicines that can lower your blood sugar level, including:
- Medicines to reduce fever and relieve pain, such as salicylate medications like aspirin
- Medicines to treat some types of mental disorders, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)
- Quinine sulfate
- Pentamidine, such as NebuPent and Pentam 300
- Medicines that can increase your blood sugar level, such as corticosteroids (for example, prednisone)
Diseases
- Cancer
- Coronary artery disease
- Diabetic nephropathy
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Heart failure
- High blood pressure
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
Credits
| Author | Jan Nissl, RN, BS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | David C.W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology & Metabolism |
| Last Updated | September 22, 2008 |
| Last updated: | September 22, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Jan Nissl, RN, BS |
| Reviewed By: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, David C.W. Lau, MD, PhD, FRCPC - Endocrinology & Metabolism |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer |
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