Sick Day Managment

[JoeJOns]

Hi,

So I am wondering a bit about sick day management. I understand hospital is very necessary sometimes, but I would love to avoid it if there is any way possible.

I am just wondering how to manage a vomiting bug, maybe over the winter, as a type 1 diabetic? Is there any particular steps I should take to make sure I don't end up in A&E?

Is it always the case with vomiting bugs diabetics end up in hospital? Or is it manageable at home?

Kind regards.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

There are a bunch of useful sources of information on t1resources.uk including this link to Sick Day Rules from Leicester Diabetes Centre

https://www.t1resources.uk/resources/item/sickday-rules-pdf/

I’ve had vomiting over the years and have avoided hospital admission so far. Keep taking basal insulin, and micro boluses for small sips of Lucozade if nothing else will stay down. Ask your GP/clinic for ketone strips (blood or urine) too. They can really help in managing illness and working out when you need to consider A&E.

 

[SB2015]

The main thing to remember when I,l is to keep levels in check. As @everydayupsanddowns says, keep the basal insulin (background one taken once or twice a day) and then match the Bolus insulin to what you are drinking or eating. Often I find I need more insulin than I usually do when I’ll. have you been given sick day rules? If not ask you DSN about these.

In twelve years I have only ended up at A&E due to illness with infection and ketones went out of control.
Always make sure you have keto strips to watch for this.

 

[Thebearcametoo]

Don’t forget you may need insulin even if you can’t eat or drink. Frequent checking of your glucose levels is the key as your levels are likely to be higher.

 

[mikeyB]

Don’t worry, you won’t end up in A&E. I don’t know about sips of Lucozade, the thought of that makes me feel ill, but when I had a dose of Norovirus I just used Dextro tablets for hypos and insulin for hypers. The advantage of the Dextro tabs is they dissolve in the mouth, so the glucose gets in quickly.

if you do get Norovirus keep a bucket in the loo, because you will be vomiting at the same time as pooing. And don’t under any circumstances mix in society until two days have passed after symptoms disappear. That’s how it spreads, people feeling normal and disseminating the virus.