Hyperglycaemia: definition, symptoms, treatment

Hyperglycaemia: definition, symptoms, treatment

If you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes, the word hyperglycaemia may be a source of confusion for you and your loved ones. Causes, symptoms and treatment: this article will help you understand what episodes of hyperglycaemia are and how to prevent them.

What is hyperglycaemia?

Blood glucose, also known as glycaemia, is the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Its level varies throughout the day and night – rising and falling slightly – and is naturally regulated by the body to not exceed certain thresholds in people without diabetes [1,2,6].

When blood glucose is too high, we speak of hyperglycaemia [1,2]. The term hyperglycaemia is derived from the Greek words "hyper" (high/beyond), "glykys" (sweet/sugar) and "haima" (blood) [3].

When hyperglycaemia is recurrent and lasts over time, it is said to be chronic. This occurs when there is not enough insulin (the hormone that lowers blood glucose) in the blood and/or the body's cells become resistant to the action of insulin. As a result, glucose accumulates in the blood, causing blood glucose levels to rise [1,3,4,5,6].

Chronic hyperglycaemia is characteristic of untreated diabetes. In the long term, it can lead to complications such as slow wound healing, retinopathy (eye conditions), neuropathy (nerve damage), and artery, heart and kidney complications [1,2,3,4,6].  

Signs and symptoms of hyperglycaemia

Moderately-high blood glucose does not usually have noticeable symptoms. However, overly-high blood glucose levels can lead to the appearance of the following signs and symptoms:

• Frequent and abundant urination (polyuria);
• Intense thirst (polydipsia);
• Fatigue and drowsiness;
• Weight loss;
• Nausea and dizzy spells [1,2,3].

Treatment of chronic hyperglycaemia

Depending on your type of diabetes, different treatments aimed at “normalising” blood glucose can be put in place with the help of an endocrinologist:

• Following a specific lifestyle (regular physical activity with a healthy, balanced diet)
• Taking one or more hypoglycaemic (glucose-lowering) drugs in the case of type 2 diabetes;
• Administering insulin if you have type 1 diabetes or in the case of type 2 diabetes where medication and lifestyle changes are not sufficient to control your blood glucose levels [3,5,7,8,9].