Diabetic emergencies: 5 things EMTs need to know
What are the most important things to remember when treating a patient with a history of diabetes?
In the United States, approximately 30 million people (or 9.4% of the population) have diabetes. However, 23.8% of those individuals have never received an official diagnosis. Furthermore, researchers estimate that 132,000 children under the age of 18 have diabetes [1].
Diabetes is a lifelong disease, which can be managed by a variety of treatment options. At its core, diabetes represents a dysfunction in the way the body processes sugar. The body either does not make enough of the hormone insulin, or it cannot effectively utilize insulin to move sugar from the bloodstream into the cells.