Quote:
Originally posted by chayce
Well, I finally can speak authoritatively on this one! I am a diabetic referee and can tell you that this was not a diabetic "seizure", this was simply a case of low blood sugar which is very commonplace in the life of a diabetic. The remedy is very simple: eat or drink something with sugar in it. I normally slip glucose tablets into my mouth during games just to make sure that my blood sugar doesn't get too low during games.
I realize that you can not expect all refs to understand every disease that is out there but in this case the parents obviously are fully aware of the kids condition and the easy remedy for the problem because this is something that happens several times a week. Let him play. This is different than an injury or physical reaction that occurs during the course of play.
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Chayce, I can also speak authoritatively on this subject as an emergency room RN and I disagree with you. You can in no way state that it was not a diabetic seizure. You weren't there so you don't know how profound the person's hypoglycemia was. Consciousness as well as hypoglycemia(low blood sugar)has varying degrees as you well know. In your case, you recognize the symptoms early and intervene with some extra glucose. I have seen patients who were profoundly hypoglycemic and are completely unconscious. I have also seen patients whose blood glucose is slightly low and had a slight alteration in their level of consciousness. If a patient comes into the ER for a hypoglycemic reaction that resulted in loss of consciousness they would be there for an hour or longer and have serial monitoring of their blood glucose. They would be given a meal after their blood glucose was increased by IV administration of concentrated glucose and watched for a while. In the original scenario, I would conclude that the person was unconscious ,or had been unconscious, as the coach stated he was having a diabetic "seizure". As has been been stated earlier you cannot have a conscious seizure. You also state that the remedy is simple in eating something with sugar in it. Wait just a minute. I would NEVER give an unconscious person ANYTHING to eat or drink. You run the risk of aspiration and death. I would be seriously hesitant about giving a minimally conscious person anthing by mouth either. By the way, I tend to get hypoglycemic at times too and my dad is an insulin dependent diabetic. I know what to watch for and treat it before it gets too bad.