Handling Diabetes When You're Sick WisdomCard


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Research Notes on Handling Diabetes When You're Sick


It is very important to know how to handle diabetes when you're sick. Illnesses can cause special problems for the diabetic. If your illness results in nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, this may result in your blood sugar levels being higher. It's a good idea to plan ahead and be prepared for sick days.1

Fast Facts:

  • You should monitor your blood sugar levels more often when you are sick.2
  • You will still need to have your insulin when you are sick, however you may need to adjust the dosage.2
  • It is important to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.2
  • It is recommended that you have 50 grams of carbohydrates every three or four hours.2
  • Keep in mind when taking medications that some can lower or raise your blood sugar levels.2
  • Call your health care provider if you are vomiting, have diarrhea, a fever, if your blood glucose values remain above 180 mg/dl, or drop below 70 mg/dl.1


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Research Notes References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Cleveland Clinic (via WebMD): Diabetes Sick Days
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 American Diabetes Association: When You're Sick

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About WisdomCard

Meet our contributors and reviewers

  • Contributor: Judy Rafferty
  • Reviewer: Nicole Kinsey
  • Supervised by: The OrganizedWisdom Physician Review Team
  • Redirects: Diabetes and being sick, How to handle diabetes when you're sick, Handling diabetes when you are sick, Dealing with being sick and diabetic, What to do if your diabetic and sick, Diabetes and being ill, Dealing with illness and diabetes, Diabetes and Illness
  • Last update: May 27, 2009

Each WisdomCard is handcrafted by our team of physician-guided health advocates. Our goal is to make it easy for you to find the most useful health resources for any health topic by filtering out spam and bad links.