Jen's Diabetes Blog - Feb 2007 
I've just written- what information to give your child's
school - which is based on the information sheet that we used to give to Alissa's school teachers. If your child is at
school, it's helpful to talk with teaching staff about the care and health of your child.
26th February
Diabetes - Sick Day Regimen
You’ve been warned about it and finally it happens – you’re feeling sick, how do
you adjust your daily regimen to cope?
The irony is that when you’re feeling fully well and healthy, you know what to
do. However, when you’re feeling sick, you’re likely to feel far worse due to the rise of
ketones in your body, and it may be hard to remember what you should do.
The key to this is to be prepared – write and print out some procedures, instructions or information to help
yourself.
Also, make sure that you always have plenty of strips for monitoring – both for testing blood glucose levels
and keeping an eye on ketone levels too.
What Can You Do ?
You’ll probably be waking up in the morning and realizing you feel
ill.
The first thing to do is to check your blood sugar levels – if they’re high (you
will have agreed a level with your healthcare professionals – make sure you write this down) you’ll need to make a correction.
If you’re on a pump, do NOT use the pump to make your correction by
bolusing. Instead, inject insulin as a correction dose. Set a timer and check your level hourly.
If your blood sugar level is not lower or approaching the normal
range within two hours of injecting and your level is still too high, contact your health care provider or doctor for further
advice.
Are You A Pumper?
This is not the time to forget to change your infusion set – if anything change
it sooner than usual, rather than later.
Also, if you’re resting, setting a higher temporary basal rate may be advised –
check with your diabetes team.
Drink !
However you are feeling, drink as much water as you can. If you don’t like the taste of regular water, try chilling water as it can be easier to drink larger
quantities.
Do not drink anything with added sugar!
Eating
If you're feeling sick and unable to keep food down, you will need to make
alterations to your insulin/injection regime.
Do take advice here - bolusing for food when you may be sick could lead to hypos
- this is when you'll need to get help from your doctor, hospital or healthcare team.
Get Advice & Help
If you’re vomiting, you can get easily and quickly (within hours) become seriously ill. Whilst we've all heard what can happen if your
blood sugar levels get too high, don't take any risks, do get medical help and advice.
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