CHENNAI: There may be a lot that separates a victim of low/high blood sugar from a guy who’s having a heart attack. Calling an ambulance isn’t one of them. Diabetes numbers being what they are, people who have spikes in their blood glucose levels often reach out to hospitals or ambulances for emergency attention at home — and they are rarely met with scorn.
In fact, your best bet may be to call for an ambulance by just dialling 1-0-8. “Besides the number of cases of diabetes-linked unconsciousness, we have attended to 25,477 calls from people with diabetes related issues,” said Prabhudoss B, regional Manager of GVK-EMRI, which runs the 108 ambulance service with the TN government.
Armed with a top-of-the-line glucometer, fluids and an internet patch that helps them tele-consult with a doctor on-call, 108’s techs have very often had to help people with even minor issues. “Very often, the callers do not need hospital care and are all right by the time they’re given fluids and are halfway to the hospital, but we’re happy they’re taking it seriously,” he added, with a note of caution in his voice.
Fainting because of a low blood sugar spell is one of the major reasons why people are brought to emergency rooms of city hospitals, but there’s a lot that can be done during the wait for the sirens to come into earshot. According to Diabetologist Dr K Rina, SRM Institutes of Medical Sciences. “The important thing is to find if the person has fainted from low sugar or high sugar — and this can be done while waiting for the ambulance to arrive by just taking a blood smear and checking the level on the glucometer. This will save a lot of time,” she said.
But be warned, with heart trouble, hypertension, strokes and diabetes forming an unholy alliance, it may not be the worst idea to call for an ambulance when a diabetic passes out. “Even if the patients’ sugar levels are normalised with glucose pills, they could have other issues. So it would make sense for them to call for help anyway,” she added.
Call 104 for advice
If you’re not quite sure if your diabetes is raging so hard that you need an ambu, then calling 104 may be an alternative. The health helpline has attended to 3091 calls related to diabetes, where the counsellors and paramedics telephonically diagnose the patients and give them directions as to how to proceed. They even have the option of sending immediate medical aid if they believe the patient needs it.