The introduction of the of the sugar tax in 2017 and the reformulation of some commonly used hypoglycaemia treatment options have highlighted the issue of healthcare professional recommendations for the home treatment of hypoglycaemia.

Diabetes Ireland has reviewed its advice and literature as follows:

“anyone purchasing minerals (soft drinks) for use as treatment for hypoglycaemia need to check the carbohydrate content at the point of purchase and/or consult with their diabetes team”.

A product more recently available on the Irish market is “Lift” formally known as “Glucojuice” which contains 15g glucose (suggested treatment option for adults) in 60ml making it an ideal hypoglycaemia management option. Glucojuice contains 57 calories and is free from gluten, caffeine, artificial colouring, preservative and sweetener.

Lift formally known as Glucojuice can now be prescribed and is available for people with diabetes under the Long Term Illness Scheme. This is because similar to other products such as Dextrosol tablets it is classed as supportive requirement at a reasonable cost to manage hypos. For further information speak to your diabetes team.

Lift formally known as Glucojuice is also available as an “over the counter” product from some pharmacy outlets at an estimated cost of €1.99.

(updated August 2019)