january 2003

Children's Diabetes and Winter

It's a fact, whether your child has diabetes or not, winter brings on more colds and flu. If you haven't already discussed what to do about sick days with your child's endocrinologist or health care team, now's the time to do so.
Be aware, blood glucose levels rise when a child is ill. The body is stressed when one becomes sick and, to deal with the stress, the body releases hormones to help fight the illness, but these hormones raise blood glucose levels and interfere with the glucose lowering effects of insulin. As a result, when your child is ill, it is harder to control their diabetes.

So what can you do before hand? Prepare a plan for sick days in advance. The basics of the plan should include:

  • when to call the doctor
  • how often to take your child's blood glucose level
  • what to do when your child runs a fever
  • when to take urine ketones
  • what additional medications/insulin to give your child
  • what to feed your child when ill
  • phone numbers for doctor and diabetes educator during the week and on weekends and holidays
  • phone number of pharmacy that delivers if possible
Food can be a problem when your child is ill. Both eating and drinking can a part of the problem, but your child will need to try to continue to eat normal meals if he/she can. Also he/she should try to drink more noncaloric liquids (like water or diet soda) so that dehydration doesn't occur. Extra liquids help get rid of the extra sugar (and possibly ketones) in the blood. If your child can't keep to the prescribed meal plan, try to get them to take in the normal number of calories by substituting regular soda, sherbet, creamed soups, yogurt, juice and frozen juice bars. Keep applesauce and regular gelatin on hand as they are good to eat when your child is ill.

Recently several newspapers ran this handy chart to tell whether it's the flu or a cold. The chart was originally published by in 1996 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If you haven't already posted this in a convenient cupboard, do so now.

Is It the Flu or a Cold?

Symptoms Flu Cold
Fever characteristic, high (102°-104°) for 3-4 days rare
Headache prominent rare
general aches & pains usual, often severe slight
fatigue, weakness can last up to 2-3 weeks quite mild
extreme exhaustion early and prominent never
stuffy nose sometimes common
Sneezing sometimes usual
sore throat sometimes common
chest discomfort, cough common; can be severe mild to moderate hacking cough

Lastly, remember what it is like when you're ill. Chances are you're also cranky, stubborn, and want special attention. When a child is sick, it's truly a time for "tea and sympathy," plus lots of patience and extra love.

FTG

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