Hypoglycemia Symptoms in Toddlers

Healthy blood sugar levels range from 70 to 150 mg/dL and ensure that your toddler's cells receive enough energy to perform their vital tasks.

If your toddler's blood sugar level dips below 70 mg/dL, he may be diagnosed with a medical condition called hypoglycemia, according to medical professionals at Children's Hospital Boston in Massachusetts. Hypoglycemia--also called low blood sugar--can cause specific symptoms to arise in your toddler, which you should discuss with your pediatrician if they occur.

Dizziness or Headache

If your toddler does not have sufficient levels of sugar within her blood, she can experience symptoms of dizziness or headache. You may notice that she appears unstable when she stands up or attempts to walk around. She may pull her hair or touch her head frequently if she has a headache.

Your toddler may also complain that she doesn't feel well or that her head feels funny. If your toddler has difficulty standing or walking about normally due to symptoms of hypoglycemia, try to keep her seated low to the ground to prevent injury from tripping or falling.

Shakiness

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Low blood sugar levels can cause your toddler to begin to involuntarily shake or tremble.

Your toddler may have difficulty holding his bottle or cup or may begin to drop items frequently. He can experience jerky or abrupt limb movements, which can contribute to recurrent episodes of clumsiness.

Increased Hunger

If your toddler's cells do not have access to an appropriate amount of sugar, they will stimulate your toddler's hunger response in an effort to bring more sugar into her body.

Your toddler can appear to have a sudden increase in her appetite or may begin to complain that she is hungry--even after completing a meal. Hunger sensations can also occur in conjunction with nausea or abnormal tingling sensations around your toddler's lips or mouth. Your toddler may frequently tell you that her tummy hurts or that her mouth feels funny if she has hypoglycemia.

Fatigue and Pale Skin

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Your toddler's skin can appear abnormally pale or unhealthy if he has hypoglycemia.

Pale skin often arises if your toddler has not eaten for several hours and his cells are in need of sugar. Sugar provides energy to your toddler's cells, enabling him to run about as usual. If he has hypoglycemia, you can notice that he appears unusually fatigued or weak, according to health officials at About Kids Health, a website established by The Hospital for Sick Children, one of the world's largest pediatric teaching hospitals.

He may take long or frequent naps throughout the day or you may have difficulty waking him up from his nap. Certain toddlers have difficulty sleeping through the night (restlessness) or experience recurrent nightmares that cause them to wake up during the night.

Mood or Behavioral Changes

Low blood sugar levels can cause you toddler to become unusually irritable or cranky, according to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford in California. She may begin throwing severe temper tantrums or cry uncontrollably.

She can experience difficulty concentrating or may appear frequently confused when you ask her to do something. These symptoms of hypoglycemia often occur in conjunction with increased hunger, fatigue, dizziness or shakiness.