Glucose levels should be checked more frequently, usually every 2 hours during illness if carrying out finger prick checks or by regular scanning if using a glucose sensor. Extra insulin will be required if glucose levels are high. Check for ketones if the blood glucose is 14mmol/l or above. .
If a blood glucose meter displays ‘HI’ then the glucose level is greater than 33mmol/l. Remember to seek advice if you have any questions or concerns.
Sick day rules
If you are unwell for any reason, the general rule is to keep dietary intake as near normal as possible. Small and frequent snacks of carbohydrate-containing foods and drinks should be tried. If unable to eat, try to take sips of fluid containing sugar to replace the normal diet and prevent low blood glucose levels. Also encourage plenty of sugar free fluids to prevent dehydration.
General advice
Sick days rules for insulin.
Advice on adjusting insulin doses
If the meter displays 'Hi' this means that the blood glucose is 33 mmol/L or above. If this happens, your bolus calculator cannot calculate an insulin correction dose. Use the table below to work out the correction dose, based on the Total Daily Dose (TDD) of insulin that would be given on a normal day. This Total Daily Dose includes long and short acting insulin.
Insulin correction dose if meter reads 'Hi'. Insulin doses calculated using 10-20% of Total Daily Dose (TDD)
When you contact the DOT team or ward staff for advice, they will refer to the table below (available in a bigger format here). The table is a bit complicated but is designed to cover all the possible different combinations of ketones and glucose levels when your child is unwell. Please contact us if ketones are more than 1.5 and we can guide you through it.
Table demonstrating how to adjust insulin for various levels of blood glucose and ketones. Click on the table to zoom in.
