Prevention

If you have diabetes

Follow the diabetes management plan you and your doctor have developed. If you're taking new medications, changing your eating or medication schedules, or adding new exercise, talk to your doctor about how these changes might affect your diabetes management and your risk of low blood sugar.

A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is an option for some people, particularly those with hypoglycemia unawareness. A CGM has a tiny wire that's inserted under the skin that can send blood glucose readings to a receiver.

If blood sugar levels are dropping too low, some models of CGM will alert you with an alarm. Some insulin pumps are now integrated with CGMs and can shut off insulin delivery when blood sugar levels are dropping too quickly to help prevent hypoglycemia.

Be sure to always have a fast-acting carbohydrate with you, such as juice or glucose tablets so that you can treat a falling blood sugar level before it dips dangerously low.

If you don't have diabetes

For recurring episodes of hypoglycemia, eating frequent small meals throughout the day is a stopgap measure to help prevent your blood sugar levels from getting too low. However, this approach isn't advised as a long-term strategy. Work with your doctor to identify and treat the cause of hypoglycemia.