No, for a severe hypo, glucose is given intravenously in 10% solution, 50ml at a time. It doesn’t work subcutaneously. It can take effect very quickly, or it can take a while. All depends on the state of the patient.Do they even do glucose subcutaneous?
May I ask why you ask?
@Mel dCP , I know you're only at your second day of school, but do you know from your first responder work?
Do you mean in an emergency setting in a hospital? That is something for professionals, you don't do intravenously as a non hcp.What if you cannot access intravenously?
Why would you as a diet controlled T2 be having a hypo?At home, can you do subcutaneous glucose for hypo?
No. If you're conscious you do food or sweet stuff on your gums if you can't hold anything in. There's glucagon for situations where you are unconscious, a family member or friend can give it intramuscular.At home, can you do subcutaneous glucose for hypo?
You should never attempt to do any substance intravenously, I really think this is a worrying question.What if you cannot access intravenously?
No. It would cause great damage to your body, possibly a cardiac arrest. And not cure a hypo because it’s not absorbed that way.At home, can you do subcutaneous glucose for hypo?
No. It would cause great damage to your body, possibly a cardiac arrest. And not cure a hypo because it’s not absorbed that way.
If it’s not possible to get intravenous access for whatever reason, a paramedic or hospital team would drill into a long bone (intra-osseus or IO) and administer the 10% glucose solution directly into the bone marrow, where it hits the bloodstream almost immediately.
Glucose is very corrosive, so would cause damage if injected directly into tissue in a big dollop, as I understand it. When it’s injected into the bloodstream, it’s carried along in vessels with protective linings, essentially. As those vessels get smaller and smaller, the glucose can gently diffuse across into the interstitial fluid and then be transported into the cells to be burned for fuel. But a giant bolus of quite concentrated glucose dumped straight into tissue would be extremely harmful , and wouldn’t get it to where it needs to be.What's puzzling me is why insulin/glucagon get into stream from a sub-q injection but glucose doesn't? Is it just some sort of chemical/biological thing that glucose can leave the bloodstream but not get back in?
Insulin and glucagon are hormones, so just small protein molecules which act on certain channels across the cell membrane.
I’m going to ask more about this when I’m in uni next week.
Glucagon is injected intramuscular not subcutaneously. The needle is much longer. The mechanism is different because glucagon is a hormone made of protein. Glucose is a carbohydrate molecule. Totally different chemistry.Why glucagon enters the bloodstream when injected subcutaneously and not glucose? I assume glucagon is bigger than glucose?