By: Marilyn Neves
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Flu symptoms occur rapidly, a fever, headache, sore throat, dry cough, runny nose, muscle aches, tiredness and generalized weakness. In other words, you feel like crud. The critical thing to keep an eye out here, is for the earliest symptoms just mentioned, to progress into full blown sinus infections, bronchitis or pneumonia. This can happen rapidly, making it sometimes hard to realize that you are actually beginning a phase of illness that can be quite dangerous. If you are concerned in the least what stage you are in, check with your doctor. By the way, just because you had your flu shot, you are not out of the woods. The shot was for a specific strain of flu, the one they THOUGHT was going to be the big one this year. Not necessarily the one you met head on. Fluids are more important to a person who is ill than solid food, especially if there is fever present. Try to hold to your regular diet, but if unable to keep solids down, try for just fluids. If you find you are unable to keep liquids down, call your doctor, immediately. You must stay hydrated or risk damage to your kidneys. Jell-o, the full sugar kind or regular soda may be used to help you maintain a steady BG if you are having diarrhea or are vomiting. Try to keep down fluids by sipping them. Soda such as 7-up are more likely to stay down. Water (up to 8 ounces per hour) is the most desirable amount to keep a person from dehydrating. Trying to push more than that for a person who is vomiting is just likely to make them lose what they had been able to keep down. Your regular medications should be taken. For a type 1, you may need extra insulin. Call your doctor if you have two BG tests of 250 or higher in a row, or are vomiting and unable to keep fluids down. Excessive pain is also something that should be mentioned to your doctor. You may be concerned about taking up your doctors time, don't be. Your life is worth every last second of it. If you are not recovering after a couple of days, make sure your doctor knows this. For you type 2's, remember that while you are ill, your body is making and releasing extra glucose. Make sure you keep on your regular medications. Keep a close eye on your BG's.
What to do when you are feeling under the weather. Does
your Diabetes make treatment of colds or flu different? When to call the doctor? All these questions need answers. When a person with Diabetes feels the beginning of a cold or flu coming on, it is imperative they get extra rest, plenty of fluids and frequent BG testing. If you are a type 1, be sure to keep an eye out for keytones in your urine. You may need to adjust your dosage if you are on insulin. If you need to do this and do not know how, ask your doctor to explain the process. |