Blood sugar control is a top priority for people with diabetes. However, this does not mean the lower the blood sugar level, the better. There have been clinical cases where diabetic patients fell into a coma due to hypoglycemia, which carries an extremely high risk.
Severe hypoglycemia (below 3.9 mmol/L) is one of the most dangerous acute complications that people with diabetes must guard against, especially for the elderly. It can cause confusion, abnormal behavior, palpitations, and fainting.
Hypoglycemia in diabetic patients can result from several causes.
One is alcohol consumption: patients may mistake its effects for normal reactions, while hypoglycemia lurks as an acute killer.
Another is advanced age, where weakened organ function leads to hypoglycemia.
A third possible cause is excessively and blindly pursuing low blood sugar levels.