DIABETES & SICK DAYS
Further guidance for children with diabetes
Should I eat when I am sick?
Balancing your food and insulin levels when you are sick can be quite a challenge. If you are taking extra insulin, you should start to provide your body with glucose from your food when your blood glucose level starts to come down to less than 17mmol/L. If you have ketones or if you are taking extra insulin, remember to test your blood glucose every hour until your levels start to improve and you are able to eat normally again.
What if I can’t take solid food?
If you can’t manage solid food take liquid food instead. You need to be providing your body with glucose every hour, eg:
Fruit juice or sweet lemonade (not diet lemonade)
Yoghurt
Milk
Sweetened jelly
And don’t forget to drink large amounts of water if at all possible.
Things to remember when you’re sick and your glucose and ketone levels are high
Test blood
Take more insulin
Drink more unsweetened fluids
Replace glucose from solid food by sweetened fluids if you can’t eat
Get help if you don’t know how to change your insulin doses for illness and/or your urine is showing a large amount of ketones and/or you have a temperature or a sickness or injury that needs medical input
Managing sick days in children with diabetes during COVID-19.
Starship Child Health, Auckland DHB, hosted a virtual education workshop in March 2020 you can view the adapted presentation from DR. Philippa Carter here.
This page from Kidshealth.org.nz is also very useful.