Health Tip: If Your Diabetic Child Gets Sick

Aug. 1 -- (HealthDay News) -- Managing your child's diabetes is challenging enough, but it's compounded when the youngster becomes sick from something else.

The American Diabetes Association offers these suggestions:

• Don't stop giving your child insulin, even if the youngster doesn't have much of an appetite. Call the child's doctor if you're not sure about how to administer insulin during a sick day.
• Try not to make major changes to your child's diet. For a child with an upset tummy, offer liquids with carbohydrates, including broth, gelatin, sports drinks, fruit juice and frozen fruit bars.
• Make sure your child drinks plenty of water. Avoid any beverage with caffeine.
• Check with the doctor before giving any over-the-counter medication. Many drugs have sugar and/or alcohol that can affect your child's blood glucose levels.
• It's critical to carefully monitor your child's blood glucose and ketone levels during an illness, so make sure you check the blood every few hours and urine several times daily.

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