Friday, July 30, 2010

Diabetes and Sick Days

Recently, I came across some excellent information from the Channing Bete Company of South Deerfield, MA in their "Living Your Life With Diabetes Self-care Handbook". Personally, I don't get sick much, however, occasionally a flu bug does catch up me. I thought they provided good information on how to manage if the situation arises. Here are commonly recommended tip: 


1. Call your health-care provider if:
  • you've been sick or had a fever for 2 or more days and you aren't getting better
  • you're vomiting or have had diarrhea for more than 6 hours
  • you're showing moderate to large amounts of keytones in your urine
  • you take insulin and your blood sugar level is 240 mg/dl even though you've taken the extra insulin your sick day plan calls for
  • you take other diabetes medications and your blood sugar level is 240 mg/dl or higher before meals and stays high for 24 hours
  • you have symptoms that may be signs of ketoacidosis, dehydration, or another serious condition
  • you're not sure what to do to take care of yourself
2. Take good care of yourself
  • Stick with your regular meal plan if possible
  • If you're on your regular meal plan, drink plenty of calorie-free, caffeine-free liquids to stay hydrated (unless otherwise advised by your health-care provider)
  • If you're having stomach problems, try a soft foods/liquids diet
  • Take your normal dose of insulin
  • Take your normal dose of other diabetes medications. If you're unable to keep pills down, call your health-care provider right away
  • Test your blood sugar and ketones every 3-4 hours and record the results
  • Report high blood sugar levels to your health-care provider. They may want you to take extra insulin
  •  Ask someone to check on you from time to time
3. You may need a soft foods/liquid diet
  • Each of the servings of these foods will allow you to get enough carbohydrates: 1/2 cup fruit juice
  • 3/4 cup ginger ale (nondiet)
  • 1/2 cup gelatin (with sugar)
  • 6 saltines
  • 1 cup soup/broth
  • 1/2 cup hot cereal
  • 1/2 cup ice cream
  • 3 tsp honey
  • 1 slice toast

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