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Recognizing diabetes
March 22, 2010 --
We fledgling nurses spend a lot of our time dealing with diabetes.
It's grown to be an epidemic. I'm studying for an exam.
There will be questions about how to recognize it in our patients.
When you read the symptoms of a disease,
sometimes it seems like every disease has every symptom.
But anyway, here goes...
| Hypoglycemia | Hyperglycemia |
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Fasting
Blood
Glucose | <60 | >100 |
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| Onset | rapid | gradual |
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| Skin | cool, pale, diaphoretic | warm, dry, flushed |
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| Mental status | disoriented, comatose | awake, lethargic |
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| Disposition | shaky, dizzy, agitated | hungry, blurred vision |
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| Respiration | normal | deep, rapid, fruity odor |
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| Pulse | normal or fast | fast, weak |
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| BP | normal or high | normal or low |
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| Seizure | common | uncommon |
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| Urine | | polyuria |
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| Thirst | | polydypsia |
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| Treatment | PO or IV glucose | SQ or IV insulin, K+ |
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| Recovery | rapid (minutes) | gradual (days) |
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