Numbness of the Lips, Tongue, and Cheek
People who experience numbness in the lips, tongue, cheek, and other parts of the face may manifest a hypoglycemia symptom. When the blood glucose in the body drops, the brain is one of the organs affected. Glucose is the primary energy source for the body, and when it drops quickly due to various causes, it can lead to the brain not functioning properly. The other organs are also immediately affected because they receive signals from the brain that they should conserve energy.
Once there’s a decrease in glucose, nerves and other sensory receptors will become less functional. This leads to numbness and a tingling sensation that people feel. Most people would immediately feel the effect of numbness in their facial region, specifically the tongue, cheek, and lips. Among the fastest and most efficient ways to manage numbness of lips, tongue, and cheek is to follow the 15-15 rule. The 15-15 rule suggests that once a person begins to feel the onset of a hypoglycemic episode, they should immediately eat 15 grams of carbohydrates to raise their blood sugar. If, after 15 minutes, the blood glucose still hasn’t normalized, they must consume another 15 grams until the level normalizes to at least 70 mg/dL.
