Symptoms of hypoglycemia in children

Children's bodies can easily lack trace elements such as potassium, zinc, and calcium, but few people know that children can also suffer from hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia in children is a very obvious sign of physical weakness, and it often occurs in children who are premature, have heart disease, or other congenital poor health conditions. Children with hypoglycemia usually suffer from anorexia and grow much thinner than children of the same age. This disease is related to maternal and familial genetic diseases. Due to hypoglycemia, children's limbs are prone to coldness, and they have a clear aversion to the fruits and sweets that they like to eat, and may even vomit.

Symptoms of hypoglycemia in children

Hypoglycemia in children is asymptomatic or has no specific symptoms, and is usually manifested by poor response or irritability, feeding difficulty, abnormal crying, low muscle tone, irritability, convulsions, respiratory arrest, etc. After sugar supplementation, the symptoms disappeared and blood sugar returned to normal. Hypoglycemia is usually temporary. If it recurs, glycogen storage disease, congenital pituitary insufficiency, glucagon deficiency, and cortisol deficiency should be considered. The paper strip method is often used to monitor blood sugar in patients with suspected hypoglycemia. Patients with persistent and recurrent hypoglycemia should undergo further auxiliary examinations.

Causes of hypoglycemia in children

1. Too little glucose production

(1) It occurs in premature infants and infants small for gestational age, and is mainly related to insufficient storage of liver glycogen, fat, and protein and low gluconeogenesis function;

(2) Sepsis, cold injury, and congenital heart disease are mainly caused by insufficient calorie intake, high metabolic rate, increased sugar requirements, and low gluconeogenesis;

(3) Congenital endocrine and metabolic defects often cause persistent and intractable hypoglycemia.

2. Increased glucose consumption

It is more common in infants of diabetic mothers, Rh hemolytic disease, Beckwith syndrome, asphyxia and infantile islet cell hyperplasia, all of which are caused by hyperinsulinemia.

3. Pay attention to whether there is family heredity, maternal diabetes and gestational hypertension, and pay attention to the age of onset. For newborns, the birth weight, placental condition, family heredity history, maternal diabetes and gestational hypertension syndrome history should be understood. Pay attention to the causes and characteristics of hypoglycemia, such as cold and hunger. Birth trauma, hypoxia, asphyxia, infection, neonatal hemolytic disease, use of ethanol, salicylates and other blood sugar-lowering drugs. Does the child hate fruits or sweets? Does he often vomit or have diarrhea after eating? Does he have a high-protein diet or feeding? Is there any connection between it and the onset of the disease? Does the disease often occur in the early morning on an empty stomach?