WHEN YOUR
CHILD GETS SICK
Children with diabetes do not get more illnesses than children without diabetes. They may get
the usual viral illness in the winter—colds and coughs, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. When you are looking
after your sick child, consider the following guidelines:
-
Do not stop the insulin—depending
on the severity of the illness, the child may need the same or more insulin. Illness raises stress
hormones, and so more insulin than usual might be needed.
-
Check your child’s glucose levels
more often—every two to four hours.
-
Encourage your child to drink
plenty of fluids—sips of water, diet soda, sugar-free lemonade, sugar-free Popsicles, and broth are all
fine.
-
Encourage your child to eat his
usual meals, but if he won’t, give him regular sodas, juice, Jell-O, or
Gatorade.
-
Check ketones—either in the urine
or in the blood.
-
It is all right to give your child
over-the-counter cough medicines: don’t worry about the sugar in these
medicines.
-
Cover the carbohydrates with
insulin in the usual way (sometimes given after the food just to make sure that your child will keep
the food or drink down). If the glucose is high, give additional insulin to correct this. If your child
is on basal and bolus insulin or on a pump, the basal insulin should be kept
going.
-
You should have your glucagon
handy just in case you gave additional insulin and your child then can’t keep down carbohydrates and
her glucose level is going low. Make up the glucagon by injecting all of the solution in the syringe
into the vial of glucagon. Then use an insulin syringe to draw up and give the
glucagon.
Contact your child’s
medical team and go to the emergency room if
-
She is vomiting or has diarrhea
and is unable to keep down fluids.
-
Blood glucose levels remain high
(more than 250 mg/dl) despite taking extra insulin
-
There are high levels of ketones
in blood or urine.
-
She experiences abdominal pain,
shortness of breath, or drowsiness.
Throughout
the year, keep your child’s immunizations up to date. Your child and family members should also get the flu
injection each year. Also be sure to review these sick day guidelines with your child’s medical team on a
periodic basis.
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