What does hypoglycaemia mean?
Hypoglycaemia is the medical term for an abnormally low level of glucose in the blood. It can occur for several reasons, including excessive insulin, prolonged fasting, certain medicines, or inadequate food intake. Symptoms may include sweating, trembling, hunger, palpitations, dizziness, confusion, and, when the condition is severe, seizures or unconsciousness. The word is especially associated with the use of insulin and other glucose-lowering medicines for diabetes, although it can affect people without diabetes. In everyday conversation, people often say “low blood sugar,” while “hypoglycaemia” is preferred in medical and editorial contexts. Recognizing and treating the condition promptly is important, particularly because severe hypoglycaemia can be life-threatening. The related adjective “hypoglycaemic” describes something that lowers blood glucose or is affected by low blood glucose.
nounHypoglycaemia is a condition in which the blood glucose level is abnormally low, potentially causing symptoms such as sweating, shaking, hunger, confusion, and, in severe cases, loss of consciousness. It is the opposite of hyperglycaemia.
- The medical condition of abnormally low blood glucose.
- The state or symptom complex resulting from insufficient blood glucose.
"She experienced hypoglycaemia after missing a meal and was relieved when she ate some carbohydrates."
"The patient was treated for hypoglycaemia after becoming confused and unsteady."
"People using insulin may need to plan for the possibility of hypoglycaemia."
The plural is uncommon; the condition is usually discussed in the singular or described as an episode or case.
"The article compares the symptoms of several severe hypoglycaemias."
A word built from “under,” “sugar,” and “blood,” hypoglycaemia literally describes the condition of having too little sugar in the blood.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hypoglycaemia come from?
The word combines the Greek prefix hypo-, meaning “under” or “below,” with glykys, a form of the Greek word for “sweet,” and haima, meaning “blood.” Its development reflects an earlier medical vocabulary in which conditions were named by describing the characteristic level or quality of blood. The American spelling, “hypoglycemia,” follows the usual replacement of British “ae” with “e.”
Related word forms
How hypoglycaemia is actually used
The standard British spelling is “hypoglycaemia”; American English usually spells it “hypoglycemia.” In medical contexts it is more formal than the everyday expression “low blood sugar.”
Easily confused with hypoglycaemia
Hypoglycaemia is abnormally low blood glucose, whereas hyperglycaemia is abnormally high blood glucose.
Hypoglycemia is the American English spelling of the same medical term, not a different condition.