How do we educate the general public about hypos?

[musicalmum]

Hi

I am a mum and wife of 2 Type 1 diabetics - both of whom have recently had rather nasty hypos, one whilst outside and one in a hotel - I was not with either of them when they had their hypos, but people do not seem to know what to do. Is it necessary to cart them off to hospital, when once they are there and their blood sugar is back to normal they are left to sit around wasting time, instead of being allowed to get on with their lives, fortunately neither ended up in hospital this time. We see so many adverts about heart attacks, strokes and spotting meningitis - perhaps we should have a campaign to educate people with the signs of a hypo and what to do if you encounter someone who is hypo - most carry identification. I just think it wastes so much money and time when all they need usually is a sweet drink and something to eat...

 

[fencesitter]

It would be good if it was more understood, especially as someone having a hypo could be mistaken for being drunk. Wearing ID is so sensible, but I wonder how many people actually do? I ordered some wrist bands for my son but he won't wear them, except grudgingly when we travel because it helps with getting through security with all the needles and insulin ... I think he'd happily wear one with some other kind of slogan on it though 🙄
Maybe if you're prone to severe hypos the ID could be backed up with info on what to do? It would take a very proactive passer by to help, but if more people were clued up they might just do the right thing.

 

[Doc_Brown]

Yes, it's inconvenient to the diabetic person but to the person who encounters them it's surely a case of 'better safe than sorry'.

I agree, an ad campaign might be a good idea. I'd only be worried that there are other, more serious conditions that could be mistaken for a hypo and would therefore not receive the treatment they needed...

 

[trophywench]

Well that is exactly the trouble. You know a 'fighting drunk' ? - well I'm afraid that was one of my neighbours - but he wasn't drunk when he acted like that - he was hypo - and his poor wife had the bruises to prove it. (In fact he was a very amiable drunk - we had lots of parties in our cul de sac - so we all knew that about each other!)

But people will walk away from someone who's blind drunk (it appears to them) and just leave em to it ..... People feel threatened by unusual behaviour of any sort because they don't understand it. And probably assume you'll be better anyway once you've slept it off .....

 

[Copepod]

Welcome to the boards, Musicalmum.

Personally, I'd like to see everyone doing first aid courses, which cover treatment of life threatening conditions such as loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest, bleeding etc. Obviously that would include treating hypoglycaemia with sugar, unless consciousness is affected. Our mum insisted that my sister and I both did standard first aid courses (about 10 evenings, once a week) as teenagers, and we've kept ourselves updated in the decades since then.

In some areas, ambulance services do not take people to A&E if they can resolve their hypoglycaemia where they are, which is preferable for all sorts of reasons.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

In the good ol days the British diabetic assoc (DUK) used to issue card which stated the symptoms of hypo and how to treat.
Are these not available now?

 

[lizabetic]

Very good point, and not to mention the mixture of drunk and hypo... i've had to explain this to my friends at times. They still don't really get it, or how dangerous it is. It puts us all in a vulnerable position!

Adverts would be good, and Doc_Brown yes there may be other serious issues but it would be one step in the right direction for all these things to get publicised. Maybe on childrens TV would be a good start, like Blue Peter... I can imagine then doing that kind of thing 🙂

Copepod I done a first aid course at college, I remember diabetes being mentioned probably was along the lines of hypos. The guys didn't believe me at first that I was a diabetic lol 🙂 I would like to do another soon actually!

 

[Northerner]

Perhaps first aid should be taught in schools as part of the curriculum?

 

[gail2]

good idea Alan first aid should be taught at school

 

[Mark T]

I was taught some limited First Aid in the Boy Scouts. But I would agree, that it wouldn't be a bad thing to teach in schools as well.

Although I definitely don't recall being taught about Hypo's in the scouts - it was all bandaging, putting people in the recovery position and some limited resuscitation techniques.

 

[Ellie Jones]

I personally don't think making people aware/recognise hypo's or teaching how to treat hypo's via first Aid courses is the answer!

I personally think, that we should make the public aware to identify a fellow human in some form of distress that needs assistance... That direct contact isn't required they can maintain a safe distance, and call in Emergency Services, be it paramedics or Police! This means that the 'fighting diabetic' and the 'fighting drunk' will suitably sorted the forum getting life saving medical treatment and the drunk sobering up in the cells out of harms way of the public! It's more important to prevent people from walking past anybody what ever causing their distress!

As to First Aiders...

Last First Aid course I attended, end up with a minor set too with the trainer in training and a major argument in the smokers shed during the break!

The trainer was an utter muppet, his description of an hypo was very misleading in many respects... But the worse was informing the group that diabetics will have needle track marks similar to illegal drug users!

I know our area, if they treat a diabetic will avoid A&E if possible, Les had an hypo the other week while out, lucky this time a Taxi driver stopped to help, and some other people did has well... Fortunately my daughters BF, saw him as he drove him, so phoned back and dashed back to pick up my daughter, and I followed down in my car!

My daughter arrived, before the ambulance she explained that he was her step dad, he's having an hypo so started to look for his meter and more luccozade in his bag (the bottle he was clutching was empty) but the women helping starting to tell my daughter that 'she' was a First Aider and Les wasn't having a hypo! fortunately the Ambulance turned up, and when I arrived they were just lifting him out of the puddle he was lying in and putting him on the stretcher..

They started treatment and we stayed in situ, for 40 min's until, then as we only lived several minutes away, I hoped in front of the ambulance to direct the driver to our house, so that I could make Les a sandwich etc.. While they finished getting his levels up, then he'd eaten and remaining stable, total time for the call was over 2 hours...

As I said, I rather that the general public is trained not so much to recognise/deal with a diabetic hypo, but identify anybody who is in distress for what ever reason, and get somebody out to them...

 

[DeusXM]

Completely agree with Ellie. If you start teaching the public at large about hypos, you create a bunch of people who think they will know it better than real experts, and you also open the floodgates to having to teach everyone about every other condition and possible response. I don't really know how to deal with someone having an asthma attack or a nut allergy or vertigo or plenty of other hidden conditions that can have the odd complication. I wouldn't really expect someone else to know how to deal with my particular problem.

The other side of it is that in an emergency situation, most people just completely forget everything they've ever been taught anyway. As an extreme example, I once was involved in providing medical assistance after a car accident. I was in a car with some friends and we saw a car reared up on the kerb and three people lying in the road, so we pulled over. Not only were other drivers still continuing to weave through the road to drive round those who'd apparently been inconsiderate enough to have a car smash into them, those that had bothered to stop were all just standing around and staring. NO-ONE had thought to call an ambulance, despite the fact that one woman was unconscious in the middle of the road bleeding from the head, and the other two were like rag dolls bent awkwardly on the kerb and groaning in agony.

It was only after we got out the car, made the 999 call ourselves, went over to the victims and then started yelling orders at people that everyone else snapped out of their stupor and started to be helpful. On paper it sounds crazy but I think it was only the fact we arrived on the scene after the accident that we weren't quite so panic-stupored ourselves.

What's the point of this story? It's that most people go all rabbit-in-headlights in a crisis and start using the more basic part of their brain. Guess what? Everyone 'knows' that diabetes means insulin. I'm convinced you could lecture a bunch of Nobel Prize winners for 20 years about how to treat a hypo and 9 times out of 10, should they ever come across someone passing out from low blood sugar, their first thought will still be 'they need insulin'.

We need to get people think 999 at any sign of trouble - the operator at the end of the phone will have basic medical training and should be able to determine what treatment is needed. As I said, people's ability to think goes out the window in a crisis but everyone is always really good at following instructions - let's make sure that people know 'call an expert for instructions' should always be the first response.

 

[Northerner]

Things aren't helped by the repeated mistakes in film and television drama, where it's more dramatic to give someone an injection than a jelly baby. The general public, as DeusXM says, would associate 'diabetic' with 'insulin' rather than 'glucagon', so in the back of their minds it will always be implanted that diabetics need insulin jabs if found in distress

 

[eeyore]

I want to get an id bracelet for when im at work but where do you get them from? I want to wear one at work when I do not have my purse and info id card on me. My workmates know what to do, I carry sweets at all times and we carry radios to ask for help but I would like to wear id as well. Do you get them from the gp or jewellers?

 

[Doc_Brown]

I went on a one-day first aid course recently and we didn't get time to cover things like diabetes or epilepsy, so it would have to be a pretty full-on course to include things like that.

But I agree, first aid should definitely be more widely taught in general.

 

[Abi]

I'd like to add that on another forum someone posted that they had 2 hypos in the last year while at work, both of which were self recognised and they treated it without assistance. But their boss called an ambulance on both occasions! Hence they are now without a driving license! They may be exaggerating / telling half truths but I personally want to be in a position where I can just get on with what I do i.e manage my blood sugars without criticism, interference or magnifying the situation into a crisis when this is not necessary
On the other hand I've also heard other stories of people being shouted at or bullied/ criticised for taking a few seconds off to treat a hypo. The best situation would be a general public which accepts that people with diabetes sometimes need to treat a low or high blood glucose level and it is vital that they do so immediately ( especially the former ) without criticism or interference.
I consider hypos an expected consequence of not completely ignoring my condition, having an HbA1c in the double figures and jeopardising my kidneys, eyes, feet etc. But needing third party assistance with these means either my management needs tightening up, something else is preventing me from dealing with it such as inadequate access to glucose monitoring, lack of access to glucose ( perhaps not being prescribed enough strips or being too unwell to be in control myself) or being scared of criticism or feeling embarrassed to treat hypos, totally inappropriate regimen or that it is time to start yelling for islet cell or pancreatic transplantation

 

[Northerner]

I want to get an id bracelet for when im at work but where do you get them from? I want to wear one at work when I do not have my purse and info id card on me. My workmates know what to do, I carry sweets at all times and we carry radios to ask for help but I would like to wear id as well. Do you get them from the gp or jewellers?

There are lots of places that do them eeyore, and if often gets discussed here. Have a look at this thread as an example:

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=25035

One or two companies are mentioned, but googling 'medical ID' will probably find you loads more! 🙂

 

[trophywench]

Well Abi if that IS the truth, the person should have appealed immediately and insisted with the Bible in their hand at the Magistrates Court that they HAD definitely treated it themselves.

Calling 999 does not imply that the ambulance crew actually needed to GIVE assistance.

 

[Doc_Brown]

Well Abi if that IS the truth, the person should have appealed immediately and insisted with the Bible in their hand at the Magistrates Court that they HAD definitely treated it themselves.

Calling 999 does not imply that the ambulance crew actually needed to GIVE assistance.

Hear, hear.

 

[Josie3491]

cards

In the good ol days the British diabetic assoc (DUK) used to issue card which stated the symptoms of hypo and how to treat.
Are these not available now?

I created my own, and keep one in the part of my purse used for ID cards. My ID is less important than treatment if I'm hypo.