Diabetes - Essentials

Merely checking the blood glucose levels, storing it in the memory of the glucometer and flashing it to the doctor while consulting is not sufficient. One must enter the data in logbooks, with specific information about readings-

Before and after breakfast,

Before and after lunch,

Before and after dinner.

The healthcare team can then get an idea of the blood glucose and its pattern, and medications can be altered accordingly.

Glucagon injections

This kit is a must for children with diabetes. Glucagon is a hormone, which helps to raise the blood glucose level. This comes as a kit, which has to be reformulated before injecting. The instructions are available with the kit. This is useful when a child goes into severe hypoglycemia and is unable to swallow or eat anything by mouth. Sometimes the child can even become unconscious.

The only way to reverse hypoglycemia then is to inject Glucagon. It is of paramount importance in children with diabetes in whom there may be wide variation in the physical activity and food intake and hence the blood glucose levels. As soon as the child regains consciousness, he/she should be made to eat or drink by mouth.