  diabetic coma is a reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. it is a medical emergency. three different types of diabetic coma are identified: #severe diabetic hypoglycemia #diabetic ketoacidosis advanced enough to result in unconsciousness from a combination of severe hyperglycemia, dehydration and shock, and exhaustion #hyperosmolar nonketotic coma in which extreme hyperglycemia and dehydration alone are sufficient to cause unconsciousness. in most medical contexts, the term diabetic coma refers to the diagnostical dilemma posed when a physician is confronted with an unconscious patient about whom nothing is known except that they have diabetes. an example might be a physician working in an emergency department who receives an unconscious patient wearing a medical identification tag saying diabetic. paramedics may be called to rescue an unconscious person by friends who identify them as diabetic. brief descriptions of the three major conditions are followed by a discussion of the diagnostic process used to distinguish among them, as well as a few other conditions which must be considered. an estimated 2 to 15 percent of diabetics will suffer from at least one episode of diabetic coma in their lifetimes as a result of severe hypoglycemia. ==types== ===severe hypoglycemia=== people with type 1 diabetes mellitus who must take insulin in full replacement doses are most vulnerable to episodes of hypoglycemia. it is usually mild enough to reverse by eating or drinking carbohydrates, but blood glucose occasionally can fall fast enough and low enough to produce unconsciousness before hypoglycemia can be recognized and reversed. hypoglycemia can be severe enough to cause unconsciousness during sleep. predisposing factors can include eating less than usual or prolonged exercise earlier in the day. some people with diabetes can lose their ability to recognize the symptoms of early hypoglycemia. unconsciousness due to hypoglycemia can occur within 20 minutes to an hour after early symptoms and is not usually preceded by other illness or symptoms. twitching or convulsions may occur. a person unconscious from hypoglycemia is usually pale, has a rapid heart beat, and is soaked in sweat: all signs of the adrenaline response to hypoglycemia. the individual is not usually dehydrated and breathing is normal or shallow. their
Coma Diabetes Medical_emergencies