ABSTRACT
Hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia can cause unconsciousness. Glucose is generated
in the body from the foods we eat and is circulated in the blood. Insulin is necessary
to enable glucose to enter the cells to provide energy for cellular metabolism. Check
your biology textbook for a detailed explanation about this process. If glucose levels
rise or fall outside the normal range (4-7 mmol/L; 3.6-5.8 mmol/L fasting) then the
person’s conscious level is affected and they can become extremely unwell. Blood
glucose monitoring is therefore often carried out by or for people known to have
diabetes. However, other underlying medical conditions and traumatic incidents
can affect a person’s blood glucose levels without them having diabetes. So most
unconscious patients or medically unwell people will have their blood glucose levels
assessed to identify if these are within normal range.
