Illness

With diabetes, it's important to be prepared for times of illness. When you're sick, your body makes stress-related hormones that help fight the illness. But those hormones also can raise your blood sugar. Changes in your appetite and usual activity also may affect your blood sugar level.

What to do:

• Plan ahead. Work with your healthcare team to make a plan for sick days. Include instructions on what medicines to take and how to adjust your medicines if needed. Also note how often to measure your blood sugar. Ask your healthcare professional if you need to measure levels of acids in the urine called ketones. Your plan also should include what foods and drinks to have, and what cold or flu medicines you can take. Know when to call your healthcare professional too. For example, it's important to call if you run a fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 degrees Celsius) for 24 hours.

• Keep taking your diabetes medicine. But call your healthcare professional if you can't eat because of an upset stomach or vomiting. In these situations, you may need to change your insulin dose. If you take rapid-acting or short-acting insulin or other diabetes medicine, you may need to lower the dose or stop taking it for a time. These medicines need to be carefully balanced with food to prevent low blood sugar. But if you use long-acting insulin, do not stop taking it. During times of illness, it's also important to check your blood sugar often.

• Stick to your diabetes meal plan if you can. Eating as usual helps you control your blood sugar. Keep a supply of foods that are easy on your stomach. These include gelatin, crackers, soups, instant pudding and applesauce.

  Drink lots of water or other fluids that don't add calories, such as tea, to make sure you stay hydrated. If you take insulin, you may need to sip sugary drinks such as juice or sports drinks. These drinks can help keep your blood sugar from dropping too low.