noun
General Slang
hypo
· noun · EMS / medical
Hypoglycemic episode — patient's blood sugar has cratered.
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Definitions
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Short for 'hypoglycemia'. A diabetic emergency where blood glucose drops dangerously low — patient goes sweaty, shaky, confused, sometimes combative or unconscious. Fix is fast sugar: oral glucose if they're with it, IV dextrose or IM glucagon if they're not. One of the most common and most satisfying EMS jobs because the patient often wakes up mid-treatment good as new.
“GCS 3 on arrival, BM was 1.8 — classic hypo. Slammed some dextrose and he was sitting up arguing inside two minutes.”
by community
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Short for 'hypodermic' (needle / syringe). Older usage, mostly heard in drug-user and harm-reduction contexts rather than modern EMS.
“Found a used hypo in the alley behind the bin.”
by community
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hypo In A Sentence
GCS 3 on arrival, BM was 1.8 — classic hypo. Slammed some dextrose and he was sitting up arguing inside two minutes.
Found a used hypo in the alley behind the bin.
Origin & Usage
Clipping of 'hypoglycemia'; in use across UK and US EMS since at least the 1980s.
Variants
hypoglyc
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