Diabetes and illness during travel
| Control of diabetes if you fall ill during your travel. |
Prevention
In addition to the vaccinations usually recommended for your travel, diabetics should consider vaccination against influenza and pneumonia (Pneumococci bacteria).
Vomiting and diarrhoea
You loose fluid and rapidly become dehydrated.
Always keep a bottle with clean water and drink regularly.
If you have been vomiting you may need extra calories.
Tea with sugar provide calories and fluid.
If you have diarrhoea and have been vomiting you need to control your blood sugar more often, for instance every second hour.
If you have been vomiting for more than six hours with or without diarrhoea you should visit a doctor.
Fever
The blood sugar increase during febrile episodes and so do the need for insulin no matter how much you eat.
The need for insulin may increase with between 25% and 50% during fever.
Fever increase the risk of acidosis.
When having fever, it is necessary to measure the blood sugar more often, increase the insulin dose and control the urine for ketones.
Edited: 26 December 2008
