Dealing with low blood sugar when your child takes insulin
How do you deal with low blood sugar?
Low blood sugar levels can develop rapidly, in 10 to 15 minutes. Treat low blood sugar symptoms as soon as you notice them.
Here are some ways to manage a low blood sugar emergency.
Be prepared
- Keep some quick-sugar food with your child at all times. Quick-sugar food can raise your child's blood sugar level to 1.7 mmol/L in 15 minutes.
- Know the symptoms of low blood sugar. Post these symptoms where the list can be seen often, and have your child carry a copy at all times. Add any symptoms that your child has that aren't on the list.
- Have your child wear medical identification, such as a medical alert bracelet
, in case your child's blood sugar drops very low and he or she needs help. For more information, see the Where to Go From Here section for information on purchasing medical identification.
- Keep glucagon on hand. If your child becomes unconscious when his or her blood sugar is very low, someone may need to give your child an injection of glucagon to raise the blood sugar level. Keep the instructions for how to give glucagon with your child's glucagon. Also, check the expiration date on the glucagon—most glucagon kits need replacing every 6 months.
- Teach your child's caregivers how to check blood sugar. Have instructions for using the blood sugar meter stored with the meter so the caregiver can review the instructions if needed.
- Post the emergency care for low blood sugar instructions in a convenient place at home and at school.
Treat low blood sugar early
Check your child's blood sugar level if you think it may be low, even if you don't see any symptoms. If your child's blood sugar level is below 3.6 mmol/L:
- If your child is alert, give him or her some quick-sugar food. Liquids raise your child's blood sugar faster than solid foods.
- Check your child's blood sugar level after 15 minutes. It will take about 15 minutes for the sugar in the food to get into your child's bloodstream.
- Wait another 15 minutes and check your child's blood sugar level again. If his or her blood sugar is still below 3.6 mmol/L, have your child eat or drink something that contains sugar and protein, such as milk.
- If your child is not alert, follow the appropriate guidelines:
- If your child does not take insulin injections, see emergency care for a child with low blood sugar who does not take insulin.
- If your child takes insulin, see emergency care for a child with low blood sugar who takes insulin.
- If your child uses an insulin pump, stop it or put it in "suspend" mode as previously instructed. If this is not possible, disconnect the pump from the catheter at the injection site.
After the episode
- When your child's blood sugar has returned to above 3.6 mmol/L, feed him or her a regular meal or a snack with protein, such as a turkey or ham sandwich. This will help keep his or her blood sugar from dropping again.
- Write down your child's symptoms and what you did. Use the low blood sugar level record
(What is a PDF document?).
- Let the doctor know if your child is having frequent low blood sugar problems. His or her medicine or insulin pump may need to be changed or adjusted.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the following questions to see whether you understand how to deal with low blood sugar levels.
In preparation for a low blood sugar emergency, my child needs to carry:
To prevent a low blood sugar emergency, your child needs to treat symptoms of low blood sugar as soon as they are noticed. To treat low blood sugar before it becomes an emergency, your child needs to:
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| Author: | Alison Allen Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: March 2, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics Alan C. Dalkin, MD - Endocrinology Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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