A diabetes diagnosis introduces a whole new vocabulary and set of instruments. What is an insulin syringe? What makes an insulin pump necessary? What about glucose meters? Tape with adhesive for my Dexcom G6? What about test strips for ketone?
Although it could seem daunting, know that you are not alone and that there are many tools available to support you as you navigate your diabetes path boldly and fully. Joining social media groups and listening to podcasts are great ways to interact with other people with diabetes and learn about their experiences.
Although diabetes is widespread in our society, we know little about it. Being your own best advocate, becoming as knowledgeable as you can, and being ready for unexpected crises are crucial initial steps in managing your diabetes. Daily activity is required to prevent diabetes emergencies.
The following are the necessary measures to avoid a serious diabetes-related incident:
- Make a kit for diabetes care
- Conduct regular blood tests
- Establish and adhere to a meal and snack schedule
- Quickly respond to any indications of hypoglycemia
- Although being careful is important, emergencies can still occur.
Decreasing Blood Sugar
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can be very serious. The warning signs you may be entering the danger zone for low blood sugar are hunger, confusion, shakiness, and weakness or fatigue.
Do not disregard these symptoms if you or your child has diabetes. It’s crucial to identify low blood sugar quickly and take the required action. Always keep fast-acting emergency sugar on hand to quickly boost your blood sugar if necessary.
Too Low Blood Sugar
If mild hypoglycemia is not treated, the body swiftly enters emergency mode. This may cause severe confusion, unconsciousness, convulsions, or non-responsiveness. Make sure you are equipped to administer glucagon if your child might need it.
Overly High Blood Sugar Level
It’s normal to experience occasional elevated blood pressure if you have diabetes. However, dangerously high blood sugar combined with ketones requires prompt intervention. Dangerously high blood sugar symptoms include fast, shallow breathing, fruity breath scent, and vomiting.
It’s crucial to inform and assist your diabetic child in getting ready for any potential school emergency. It’s our responsibility to prepare them when their blood sugar spikes or falls.
Create a personal care plan and provide emergency kits containing the following items to your child’s teacher.
- Tools for blood sugar monitoring
- Snacks that immediately increase blood sugar (candy, juice, glucose tablets, carbs)
- Contact information for emergencies
- Copies of recent prescriptions, including details about eye care
- Information about current dosage and consistent times of medication administration
- Their basal rates, insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio, insulin sensitivity factor, blood glucose target, and insulin pump correction variables.
- Contacts for the physician
- A duplicate of their health insurance card and photo ID
- The brand, model, and the serial number of their continuous glucose meter or insulin pump.
Include the following extras in your child’s kit if you really want to go the additional mile:
- Pen needles, insulin(in case the pump fails), and an insulin pen
- Batteries on hand in case the meter needs to be replaced
- Glucagon (if you allow a trained individual to provide it to your child or a trained individual to administer it to your child)
- To measure ketones in the blood, use ketone meters or ketone urine strips.
- Make sure the diabetic care plan for your child specifies what is included in it. Although we’d like to think that an emergency or tragedy won’t strike, there is absolutely nothing we can do to prevent it.
A diabetes emergency kit must be kept on hand at work if you have diabetes. People you work closely with should receive a crash course in case you ever need their help in an emergency. You will feel more at ease if you are fully prepared to care for yourself or your child in case of an emergency. Everything revolves around prevention, readiness, and mental clarity.
source: https://skingrip.com/blogs/diabetes-tips/diabetes-emergency-preparedness-tips
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