Illness and diabetes

Managing when you’re ill

Here are the basic points to remember when you’re unwell:

  • Don’t stop taking your insulin
  • Drink plenty of unsweetened fluids – aim for about five pints per day.
  • If you can’t eat solid food and you’re worried you might go hypo, try to replace your usual amount of carbohydrate by sipping sugary drinks or sucking boiled sweets or glucose tablets.
  • Test your blood glucose regularly to make sure it’s not too high.
  • If you have ketone testing strips, test your ketones.
  • Rest – exercise will make things worse.
  • If your blood glucose levels are over 15mmol/l or your urine tests are positive, you may have to increase your dose of tablets or insulin. Get advice from your diabetes team on how to do this.
  • If your blood glucose levels are continuously high, you are vomiting and unable to keep anything down, or if you are unsure about what to do, contact either your diabetes care team or your GP.
  • And finally, remember don’t stop taking your insulin or diabetes medication.