Diabetes and illness

It’s important to know how to manage your diabetes when you’re ill. Some people will know this as diabetes sick day rules

How illness affects diabetes:
Illness and infections, as well as other forms of stress, can raise your blood glucose (sugar) levels to dangerously high levels. As part of the body’s defence mechanism for fighting illness and infection, more glucose is released into the blood stream. This can happen even if you’re off your food or eating less than usual.

Feeling or being sick, or having diarrhoea can make your blood sugar levels drop, because you’re not absorbing food as usual.

Being dehydrated when you have diabetes

Having a temperature or being sick can lead to dehydration. In some cases, severe dehydration and very high blood sugar levels can mean that you need to go into hospital.

So it’s important to be prepared and follow our advice on coping when you’re sick. You might want to give this information to a friend or family member, so they can help you if you get sick.

Type 2 Diabetes: What to do when you are ill:

Type 1 diabetes: What to do when you are ill:

 

What is DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis)?

Diabetic ketoacidosis, known as DKA, is a life-threatening diabetes complication. It is caused by a severe lack of insulin. Without insulin your body can’t move sugar into the cells for energy so instead breaks down fat releasing harmful chemicals called ketones which build up and make your blood acidic.

A large build-up of ketones can lead to you becoming seriously ill very quickly. And for some people including children, DKA may have developed before diabetes is diagnosed, especially if it’s type 1 diabetes.

DKA is more likely to happen to someone with type 1 diabetes, someone with any type who uses insulin, and people taking SGLT2 inhibitors, but can happen to other people on tablets or without a diagnosis too.  Although DKA sometimes affects people with type 2 diabetes or other types of diabetes, they may develop Hyperosmolar Hyperglycaemic State (HHS) instead.

It is important to be able to spot the signs and symptoms of DKA so that it can be treated quickly.