Hypoglycaemia, or hypo, is the medical term for low blood glucose levels – that is a blood glucose level of less than 4 mmol/l. This is too low to provide enough energy for your body’s activities. Hypos can happen when you are treated with insulin or some diabetes tablets. No matter how much you know about diabetes or how careful you are, if your diabetes is treated with certain medication, you are likely to experience some hypos. Similarly, there are certain tablets that will not cause hypos. Check with your diabetes healthcare team if you are not sure whether the treatment you are on is likely to cause hypos.

Reviewed: July 2012
Next review: July 2013