Free tool · Scarlet Beast En español →
When blood sugar goes too low or too high
For people in the United States who have diabetes; for the mother, father, husband, wife, friend or coworker beside them; and for anyone who may one day be standing next to a person whose blood sugar has dropped. Low blood sugar: the signs, and what to do. What to do when the person can’t treat it themselves. High blood sugar, sick days and ketoacidosis. What diabetes is. Day to day. A program that teaches it. Burnout and mood. Paying for insulin, medicine and supplies. Work, school and driving. Finding help. And the words to say when you call or write. No quiz and no score. One thing at a time.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Low blood sugar (shaking, sweating, a fast heartbeat, irritability or confusion, dizziness, hunger): if the person is awake and can swallow, give sugar now. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says: have 15 grams of carbs, such as 4 ounces (half a cup) of juice or regular, non-diet soda, then wait 15 minutes and check again.
- If they cannot swallow, are very confused, have a seizure or have passed out: use their glucagon if they have it and you know how, and call 911.
- High blood sugar with fruity-smelling breath, vomiting that won’t stop, or trouble breathing: go to the emergency room or call 911 right away.
- Thinking about ending your life, or about hurting yourself? Call or text 988, at any hour.
More help
- Chest pain or pressure? When it might be a heart attack. A drooping face, a weak arm, strange speech? When it might be a stroke.
- A seizure? When someone has a seizure. Asthma? When it’s hard to breathe.
- Worn out, low, or afraid all the time? When the heaviness won’t lift and When the worry won’t switch off.
- Can’t afford care? When you need a doctor and can’t pay and When you need food.
- Looking after someone? When you’re caring for someone and Help at school for your child.
- Full after a few bites, nausea or vomiting that keep coming back? Gastroparesis: when the stomach empties too slowly.
- Feet that burn, tingle or feel numb, or you no longer feel low blood sugar? Diabetic neuropathy: nerve damage from diabetes.
- Seeing a doctor soon? Get ready for your appointment.
- Changes at work? Ask for what helps you work.
- Can’t work? Applying for disability benefits.
- All our free tools and Get help now.
Your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid or blood, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a heart attack or stroke, blood pressure, AFib, heart failure, cholesterol, diabetes and prediabetes, the thyroid, anemia, sickle cell and menopause, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- Getting ready for an A1C test: what it is, the numbers, what can change them, and your goal: getting ready for an A1C test (hemoglobin A1C or HbA1c, for prediabetes, type 2 diabetes or diabetes management): what it is, the numbers, what can change them, and your goal.
- Prediabetes and insulin resistance: getting tested, what the numbers mean, and the steps that can prevent type 2 diabetes: prediabetes and insulin resistance: getting tested, what the numbers mean, and the steps that can prevent type 2 diabetes.
- Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke: what raises the risk, the warning signs, the ABCs, and the medicines: diabetes, heart disease and stroke: why diabetes raises the risk, what else adds to it, the warning signs of a heart attack and a stroke, how doctors check your heart, aspirin, statins and the medicines to ask about, and your diabetes ABCs.
- Diabetes and your mouth: gum disease, dry mouth, the signs to check for, the dentist, and the cost: diabetes and your mouth: how diabetes changes your saliva, gum disease (gingivitis and periodontitis), dry mouth and the other mouth problems, the signs to check for, what to tell your dentist, getting ready for dental work, and keeping your mouth healthy when money is tight.
- Diabetic retinopathy: the signs, who is at risk, the yearly eye exam, protecting your sight, and treatment: diabetic retinopathy: the signs, who is at risk, the yearly eye exam, protecting your sight, and treatment.
- Diabetes and pregnancy: getting ready, the risks, the blood glucose targets, insulin, and after the baby: diabetes and pregnancy (type 1 or type 2 diabetes, pregnant or planning a pregnancy): getting ready, the risks for the baby and you, the blood glucose targets, insulin and medicines, and after the baby.
- Gestational diabetes: the tests, the targets, the care, and after the baby: gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy): the glucose tests, the eating plan, ketones and insulin, the daily targets, and the test after the baby.
- When it’s high blood pressure: what the numbers mean, a very high reading and when to call 911, checking at home, medicines, salt and food, pregnancy, and what to ask: high blood pressure: what the two numbers mean, what to do with a very high reading and when it is a 911 call, how to get a true reading, the kinds of medicine, and salt.
- When it’s high cholesterol: what the numbers mean, how often to be tested, statins and other medicines, food, when it runs in the family, and what to ask: high cholesterol: what the numbers on a lab report mean, how often to be tested, the kinds of medicine and what is said about statins, food, and when it runs in the family.
- When it’s your kidneys: your kidneys: who should be tested, what the two numbers mean, the pain relievers that can damage kidneys, dialysis, transplant, and Medicare at any age.
- Diabetes, sexual and bladder problems: erection trouble, dryness and pain, leaks, trouble going, infections, and what helps: diabetes, sexual and bladder problems: why diabetes can change sex and the bladder, erection problems, low desire, dryness and painful sex, yeast and bladder infections, leaks, trouble going, and what helps.
- Diabetic kidney disease: what it is, who is more likely, the yearly tests, blood sugar and blood pressure goals, and the medicines: diabetic kidney disease: what it is and how diabetes causes it; why it is often silent; what raises the chances; the yearly urine albumin and blood tests; the A1C and blood pressure goals; ACE inhibitors and ARBs; healthy habits and stress; and whether it gets worse.
- Diabetes and your feet: how diabetes can hurt your feet, the daily foot care that protects them, shoes and socks, and when to call the doctor: diabetes and your feet: how diabetes can hurt your feet, checking and washing them every day, corns and toenails, shoes and socks, and when to call the doctor.
- Monogenic diabetes (MODY and neonatal diabetes): diabetes caused by a change in one gene, who gets it, the genetic test, families, and treatment: monogenic diabetes (MODY and neonatal diabetes): diabetes caused by a change in one gene, the genetic test, families, and treatment.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). The facts come from pages read on October 2, 2026: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Diabetes Basics; Type 1 Diabetes; Type 2 Diabetes; Symptoms of Diabetes; Low Blood Sugar; Treatment of Low Blood Sugar; Diabetic Ketoacidosis; Managing Sick Days; Manage Blood Sugar; Monitoring Your Blood Sugar; Your Diabetes Care Schedule; Your Feet and Diabetes; Living with Diabetes; Diabetes and Mental Health; 10 Tips for Coping with Diabetes Distress; Prediabetes; About Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support; and Find a DSMES Program); the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Low Blood Glucose; and Financial Help for Diabetes Care); the U.S. National Institute on Aging (Diabetes in Older People); MedlinePlus (Hyperglycemia); Medicare.gov (Insulin); the American Diabetes Association (Low Blood Glucose; Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment for Low Blood Glucose; Severe Hypoglycemia; DKA; Insulin Cost and Affordability; Safe at School; Employment Discrimination; Driver’s License Information; Diabetes Care in Detention Settings; and the hours printed on its website); and the Job Accommodation Network (its Diabetes page, and its contact page). The description of Crisis Text Line is from its own front page, read the same day. The American Diabetes Association and Crisis Text Line are private organisations describing themselves; we have no connection with either. We did not call or text any line, contact any provider, program or group, or search any directory. We did not read any clinical guideline, any drug or device label, any law or regulation, any state’s driving, school or insulin rules, what any insurance plan pays for, or the research behind any statement; where the page touches one of these, it says so. Where two pages of one source give different numbers, the page reports both. The page has no questionnaire and gives no score, on purpose: a list is not an assessment. Apart from insulin and glucagon it names no medicine, and it gives no dose of anything; the amounts of juice and sugar are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s. It quotes no named person, and gives no figures for how common diabetes or its complications are; the sources have them, with their context. Lines marked “Ours” are our own suggestions. This page saves nothing: no account, no cookies, nothing you tick is stored or sent, and no analytics (privacy). Scarlet Beast is not a clinic or a government agency, and takes no money from anyone named here. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].