This amounts to 1000 IU per mL. 8 doses per mL.
To administer such a small dose (2 drops) with some precision,
you may want to dilute it first.
For example 1 vial in 90 cc
of an inactive solution yields 100 cc,
from which you get 80 doses of 125 IU (1.25 cc each).
If you're a young doctor by herself in a remote area,
I'll just pray that you'll know what to do with whatever means
you have at your disposal
and whatever help you can gather about this emergency.
What is an
IU
worth ?
The IU (International Unit) is a unit of biological activity
which is standardized for each substance
(fairly arbitrarily) by the World Health Organization.
It's also abreviated UI (from the French locution
unité internationale ).
For a simple chemical (e.g., Vitamin C) the WHO simply assigns a value of
1 IU to a particular mass of that substance.
The rating of biological preparations (e.g., vaccines)
is more delicate but it need not be of concern to the practitioner...
If you need to give 125 IU of a substance to a patient,
you must first know the concentration of the solution you have at hand.
Normally, this is shown directly in IU/ml, IU/mL or IU/cc (same thing) on the package.
It could also be given as the reciprocal of that:
For example 1mL/40 IU is the same as 40 IU/mL.
A mole of
glucose
(CAS 50-99-7)
weighs 180.16 grams.
Therefore, a blood glucose concentration
(bG) of 1 mmol/L
is equivalent to 18.016 mg/dL.
So, the blood glucose concentration given in mg/dL
(the form most commonly used by doctors and
diabetic patients across Europe and the US)
is numerically 18 times the number in mmol/L
(often used in medical research).
Blood
Glucose, Plasma Levels (bG)
| mg/dL | mmol/L |
Interpretation and/or Symptoms |
|---|
| 540 | 30.0 |
Severe imbalance. |
| 360 | 20.0 |
Very high blood sugar level. |
| 270 | 15.0 |
High or very high
(depending on patient) |
| 200 | 11.1 |
| 180 | 10.0 |
Non-diabetic postprandial
(i.e., after meal) |
| 144 | 8.0 |
| 108 | 6.0 |
Non-diabetic preprandial
(i.e., before meal) |
| 100 | 5.55 |
| 90 | 5.0 |
| 72 | 4.0 |
Slightly low. Mild lethargy. |
| 54 | 3.0 |
Quite low. Lethargy. |
| 36 | 2.0 |
Extremely low. Risk of fainting. |
Whole blood concentration is actually 15% lower than the
plasma level quoted above,
but modern portable glucose meters are calibrated to match
the plasma readings obtained in lab tests.
Venous blood and capillary blood may have slighlty different
compositions only when blood chemistry evolves rapidly (after
a meal).
