Being a parent of a child with diabetes can bring an awful lot to consider and the responsibility can be demanding. Remember, you are not alone.

What diet should my son or daughter have? How will I manage his or her blood sugar levels? Will they get the right level care at school? How will my son or daughter cope with their own diabetes?

We answer these questions and more and if you need more advice we have a specific

Diabetes Forum for Parents and Children

Parenting Guides:

Children and Diabetes

Diabetes at School

Managing Your Child’s Diabetes

Emotional Issues

Free from Diabetes

Explaining Type 1 Diabetes to Your Child

Explaining Type 2 Diabetes to Your Child

Having Hypos as a Parent

Don’t forget to take a look at the dedicated

Diabetes and Kids
section.

Coming to terms with your child’s diabetes diagnosis

As a parent of a child with diabetes, the diagnosis can often be a much harder blow for the parent than for the child. Your child’s diagnosis will likely come as a great shock and it can be difficult to recognise just how much of an effect it can have on you.

Read about

coping with diabetes diagnosis

What diet should my child have?

A child with diabetes need not be prescribed a particular

diabetic diet
as such.

However, through blood glucose testing you may find that some foods are better for your child’s blood glucose control than others. Testing before and around 2 hours after meals is a good way to see how different meals affect your child’s blood sugar.

As with dietary advice for people in general, your child should have a balanced diet to include plenty of vegetables.

Managing your child’s blood sugar control

Watching out for hypos, being aware of hyperglycemia, monitoring and recording blood glucose levels and making sure they’re taking their doses are all involved as part of

managing your child’s blood sugar
It can be a tall order at times but a little extra knowledge can go a long way.

Should my diabetic child take part in sports?

Sports are a great activity for your child to take part in. They’ll help your child to stay fit and healthy and they’re good for the social aspects. Playing sports will lower your child’s blood sugar so they will need to test their blood before playing sports.

If a pre-sport sugar level is low or high they should not start until the level has returned to normal, as hypoglycemia could result from a low and

ketones
could be produced if exercising when too high.

Children and diabetes at school

To help you ensure your child gets the best education out of school, we’ve prepared advice on

children with diabetes at school

Coping with emotional issues

Growing up can be an emotional time in itself and diabetes can emphasise these emotions. Read more about the

emotional issues diabetic children may have

Diabetic children and social life

It can be a temptation to be protective of your child when it comes to their social life but bear in mind that being overprotective in limiting their social life could lead to

emotional difficulties
later in life.

If you’re unsure where to draw the line, it may help to speak to other parents with diabetes.

Talking to other parents of children with diabetes

Sometimes knowing what’s best for your child can be very confusing.

Connecting with other parents who have children with diabetes can help to determine the best course of action. You can discuss diabetes with other parents on our

diabetes youth club forum

Type 1 diabetes may sometimes be referred to as juvenile diabetes, however, this term is generally regarded as outdated as, whilst it is commonly diagnosed in children, the condition can develop at any age.

Insulin dependent diabetes is another term that may sometimes be used to describe type 1 diabetes.

Because type 1 diabetes causes the loss of insulin production, it therefore requires regular insulin administration either by injection or by insulin pump.

Type 1 diabetes symptoms

Type 1 diabetes symptoms should be acted upon immediately, as without treatment this type of diabetes can be deadly.

Symptoms include:

• Above average thirst
• Tiredness during the day
• Needing to pee regularly
• Unexplained weight loss
• Genital itchiness

Type 1 diabetes tends to develop more slowly in adults than it does in children and in some cases type 1 diabetes in adults may be misdiagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes in adults over 35 years old will sometimes be referred to as Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood (LADA).

• See more information on recognising the signs of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 causes

Type 1 diabetes is caused by a fault in the body’s immune response in which the immune system mistakenly targets and kills beta cells, the cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin.

As more insulin producing cells in the pancreas are killed off, the body can no longer control its blood glucose levels and the symptoms of diabetes begin to appear.

What causes the initial fault in the immune system is yet to be discovered, however, research suggests that the condition results from a combination of genetic predisposition with an environmental trigger.

What triggers the immune system to behave this way is yet to be conclusively identified. To date, the strongest evidence points towards a virus as being the most likely trigger.

• Read more about the causes of type 1 diabetes

Diagnosis

If you show signs of having diabetes, your doctor may use blood or urine tests to diagnose diabetes. Your doctor should consider which type of diabetes you have as this can affect how your diabetes is treated. If the type of diabetes is unclear, your doctor may decide to carry out one or more of the following tests:

• Ketone test
• GAD autoantibodies test
• C-pepide test

Because type 1 diabetes can develop quickly within children and young adults, a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes should be followed by same day referral to a multidisciplinary paediatric diabetes care team.

Treatment for type 1 diabetes

The impairment of the pancreas’ ability to produce insulin in type 1 diabetes means that insulin treatment is necessary.

Most people will take insulin by injection with insulin pens. Insulin can also be delivered by wearing an insulin pump. Use of an insulin pump will be considered in people that express an interest in having one and that meet certain eligibility criteria.

It is important that you are given education on how to balance insulin doses with dietary intake and physical activity and how to use blood glucose testing to help you control your diabetes.

Staying physically active and exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet are also important towards maintaining good blood glucose control and minimising the risk of long term diabetes complications. Although diet and exercise have a role to play in type 1 diabetes management, they cannot reverse the disease or eliminate the need for insulin.

• How to test your blood glucose
• How to treat a hypo
• How to inject insulin
• If you have recently been diagnosed, see our newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes guide.

Type 1 diabetes and complications

Type 1 diabetes is a serious condition which can carry a significant risk of both short term and long term complications.

Short term complications

Short term complications can occur if blood glucose levels go too low or if insulin injections are missed. The short term complications that can occur are:

• Hypoglycemia – too low blood sugar levels
• Ketoacidosis – which can occur if insulin doses are missed or blood glucose levels become too high

Long term complications

Type 1 diabetes can lead to the development of the following long term diabetes complications:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Retinopathy
• Kidney disease
• Neuropathy

Whilst the list of complications is a scary prospect, the chances of developing these can be significantly reduced by maintaining good control of your blood glucose levels and ensuring you attend all your diabetic complication screening appointments.

Prevention

In the future, research may find a way to halt the development of type 1 diabetes but, to date, no intervention has successfully prevented type 1 diabetes in humans.

Type 1 diabetes research

Researchers from around the globe are looking for ways to improve type 1 diabetes treatment and to investigate possible cures. Important research areas include:

• Artificial pancreas
• Encapsulated islet cells
• Diabetes vaccines

Type 1 diabetes facts

The risk of developing type 1 diabetes can be affected by your genetics ; i.e. if your parents or siblings have type 1 diabetes.

• In terms of inheritance of type 1 diabetes – there is a 2% risk if the mother has type 1 diabetes, 8% risk if the father has type 1 diabetes; and a 30% risk of the child developing type 1 diabetes if both parents are type 1 [5]
• Within 20 years of diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, nearly all of those diagnosed have some degree of retinopathy [1]

There is also a sub-type of type 1 diabetes known as brittle diabetes.

Famous people with type 1 diabetes include:

• Young pop-rock sensation Nick Jonas
• Actress Sharon Stone
• From the UK, extreme snowboarder Chris Southwell

We know there’s a huge amount to take in when you’re newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes so we’ve put together this guide to help make sense of it all.

Contained within this guide are links to some of our most important guides which help to get you in control of your diabetes from today.

Coming to terms with diabetes

A diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is usually a big shock and some of us wonder how we’re going to cope with the condition.

Diabetes can be a struggle to come to terms with and we each will come to terms with having diabetes in our own way and at own pace.

Some of us may adjust quickly, but for many of us it can take years to truly come to terms with this important part of our lives.

• Read more on
  
  coming to terms with a diagnosis of diabetes

You may wish to consider joining the

Diabetes Forum
as this is a great source of support – not only during your diagnosis, but also for when you wish to ask questions and share your experiences.

Having diabetes

One of the questions which often strikes us around the time of diagnosis is what effect diabetes will have on our daily lives? Will it prevent us from taking part in activities? Will it affect our present or future career? Will we have diabetes for life?

• Read answers to all of these questions and more in our guide to
  
  having diabetes

Getting to grips with injections and blood tests

Some of us adjust to injections and blood tests better than others. Although in reality, injections and blood tests are a pain for us all.

Blood testing guides

Blood glucose testing is the main way you will be able to identify what your blood glucose levels are. You will most likely be given a blood glucose meter by your doctor or healthcare team.

If you are new to blood glucose testing, the following guides will prove useful.

• 
  How to test blood glucose levels
• 
  Pain free blood glucose testing
• 
  Blood glucose meter comparison

Injection guides

Many people are scared of needles. However, injecting insulin is not as painful as you’d think.

Watch our video on how to inject insulin and read our guide on how to manage injection sites and needle phobia.

• 
  How to inject insulin
• 
  Dealing with a fear of needles
• 
  Diabetes and injection sites

Keeping diabetes under control

Diabetes control does take some dedication to get right. Insulin doses need to be carefully balanced with the amount of carbohydrate you take in and we need to remember to take in other factors including exercise.

• Hit the ground running with our guide to
  
  controlling type 1 diabetes

Many of us with type 1 diabetes will still be producing a certain amount of our own insulin. This is useful as it means that our pancreas is still able to give us a bit of a hand in helping to control our sugar levels.

This period is referred to as the ‘

honeymoon phase
’ and usually lasts anywhere from a few months up to a couple of years.

Carbohydrate counting and diabetes education courses

One of the most important aspects of type 1 diabetes is to be able to assess how much carbohydrate is in each meal and therefore to balance your carbohydrate and insulin intake.

• 
  Carbohydrate counting

Carbohydrate counting can be a challenge for some of us. Fortunately, there is help at hand and there are diabetes education courses which can be attended for free on the NHS. The courses are often very popular with people with type 1 diabetes. Ask your GP or diabetes team about which courses are available in your area.

• 
  Diabetes education courses

Spotting high and low sugar levels

If your diabetes is kept under good control, you should be able to reduce the number of times your blood sugar levels goes too high or too low.

If your sugar levels do go too high or low, it helps if you can spot this early and do a test to find out how high or low your sugar levels are.

There are some common symptoms that may be experienced at high or low levels, although the symptoms can sometimes vary from time to time.

• See our list of symptoms of
  
  high and low sugar levels

Preparing for hypos

Low blood glucose, known as hypos, can be disorientating and can become more dangerous if they’re not treated soon enough.

We have a number of guides to help you with treating and preventing hypos from happening:

• 
  How to treat a hypo
• 
  Preventing hypos
• 
  What is a severe hypo?

Avoiding ketoacidosis

At the other end of the blood sugar spectrum is diabetic ketoacidosis which is a dangerous condition which can occur if our blood glucose levels go very high.

• Read more about
  
  diabetic ketoacidosis

Health appointments and health numbers

People with diabetes should receive a number of important

diabetes health checks
each year.

It is important that these checks are carried out once each year.

The exception is children under 12 who will not usually need retinopathy (eye damage), nephropathy (kidney damage) or neuropathy (nerve damage) tests to be carried out.

Type 1 diabetes belongs to a group of conditions known as autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are when the body incorrectly identifies its own useful cells as an attacking organism.

In type 1 diabetes, it is the

beta cells
in the pancreas which produce insulin that are wrongfully targeted and killed off by specific antibodies created by the body’s

immune system

Researchers have been investigating what may cause the immune system to act in this way but to date researchers have theories but no concrete proof.

Genetic predisposition

Researchers have uncovered a number of genetic regions that are linked closely with type 1 diabetes. Each of these is denoted with a name such as IDDM1.

At least 18 different regions have been discovered and some of the genetic areas include an increased susceptibility for other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and

coeliac disease

Whilst genetics offers clues as to why some people are more susceptible to type 1 diabetes, it doesn’t explain why some people with these genes develop type 1 diabetes and why others with these genes don’t.

For example, having an identical twin with type 1 diabetes gives you a statistically higher risk but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop the condition.

Genetics does not explain either why people will develop type 1 diabetes at different ages. Type 1 diabetes is most commonly diagnosed in 10 to 14 year olds but can be diagnosed at any age.

• Read more on
  
  diabetes and genetics

Type 1 diabetes triggers

Researchers have hypothesised that whilst some people are have a genetic predisposition to type 1 diabetes, there is likely to be an environmental factor that triggers the initial development of type 1 diabetes.

Some of the possible triggers that have been suggested include:

• 
  Viral infection
• 
  Vaccines
• 
  Low levels of vitamin D
• 
  Increased insulin demand

Viral infection

Associations have been found between type 1 diabetes and a number of different viruses. Of these, enteroviruses have attracted the most interest from researchers. Studies have shown that enterovirus antibodies have been recorded at higher levels in pregnant mothers of

children
that gone on to develop type 1 diabetes. Higher frequencies of enterovirus infections have also been detected in children which develop type 1 diabetes when compared with siblings that have not developed the condition.

Vaccinations

Another theory put forward is that childhood vaccinations could increase the chances of developing type 1 diabetes. One researcher, Dr J B Classen has investigated incidences of type 1 diabetes in the human population as well as in animals. Dr Classen’s research indicates there could be a link between type 1 diabetes and childhood vaccinations such as smallpox, tuberculosis and Hib vaccines.

The research has yet to be accepted as conclusive enough to change vaccination schedules.

Vitamin D

A link between

vitamin D
and type 1 diabetes has been drawn.

Researchers have noted that countries with the highest incidences of type 1 diabetes tend to be located further from the equator. Countries such as the UK, Canada, Australia and the countries of Scandinavia all have notably high rates of type 1 diabetes.

Studies have also shown that people with lower levels of vitamin D had a higher incidence rate of developing type 1 diabetes. A number of studies, including the EURODIAB Substudy 2, have shown that supplementation of vitamin D appears to lower the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Increased insulin demand

Increased demand on insulin has also been put forward as a contributing factor. A study, carried out by the University of Colorado and published in 2008, showed that a diet with high

glycaemic index
foods could speed up the progression to type 1 diabetes in children with signs of islet autoimmunity.

The growth phase that children go through in teenage years increases the amount of

insulin
released and could lead to extra stress on beta cells, raising the risk of the immune system attacking the insulin producing cells.

Central to the treatment of type 1 diabetes is to keep a balance of the right amount of insulin to keep blood glucose levels from being either too high or too low.

In type 1 diabetes the body’s immune system kills off the insulin-producing cells leaving the pancreas unable to produce enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels at healthy levels.

As a result,

insulin
needs to be taken by injection or another delivery means such as by infusion with an insulin pump. Insulin is a hormone in the body that helps to move glucose out of the blood and into cells for energy.

Your health team

Your diabetes health team are an important part of your diabetes treatment. Your GP and consultants, between them, will be able to offer you advice on controlling diabetes and refer you to any medical specialists you may need to see.

Your health team will also be responsible for making sure you get all the diabetes health checks that are recommended for people with diabetes. The

health checks will help you health team to spot any signs of damage caused by diabetes
and ensure these are treated to prevent the damage becoming more serious.

Insulin injections

When you are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes you will be put onto insulin injections. The thought of injecting each day can be a big shock at first but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a manageable part of life.

Over the last few decades some big steps have been made to reduce the hassle involved in injecting and insulin injections can now be done quickly, discretely and often painlessly.

Insulin pumps

An alternative way of taking insulin is to use an insulin pump. An alternative name for insulin pump therapy is continuous insulin infusion therapy because

insulin pumps
work by continuously delivering small amounts of insulin into the body.

Insulin pumps have a small tube called a cannula that is inserted just under the skin and is kept in place for a few days at a time until they need changing. The cannula allows insulin to be delivered into the layer of fat we have just under the skin, from where it can be absorbed by the blood.

The insulin pump itself is worn outside of the body, often near to your waist, and electronic controls on the pump or a separate handheld device allow you to control how much insulin is delivered.

Keeping blood glucose at the right level

As mentioned above, key to treating type 1 diabetes is to ensure

blood glucose levels
are not too high and not too low. There are specific blood glucose targets that we should aim to keep our blood glucose levels within.

The balancing act of keeping sugar levels not too high and not too low is not easy but with a good understanding of how our body works and how diabetes behaves, you can build up experience to gain good control of type 1 diabetes.

Everyone with type 1 diabetes will experience some blood sugar levels that are too high or too low at some point. If our blood glucose levels become either very high or very low, it can put up us at risk of immediate dangerous health so it is important to know how to

recognise the signs of high and low blood glucose levels

Another reason for keeping sugar levels at the recommended levels is that regularly having blood glucose levels that are too high raises the risk of suffering

health difficulties (diabetes complications)
later in life.

Read more:

• 
  High blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia)
• 
  Low blood glucose (hypoglycemia)

The honeymoon phase

When you are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, your body will often be producing a significant amount of its own insulin which means your pancreas helps out to make managing sugar levels slightly easier. The time period when your body is producing a useful amount of insulin is known as the honeymoon phase of type 1 diabetes.

After a number of months and sometimes up to a few years, your body will stop being able to produce as much insulin and you will find you need to take more insulin than you have been. When this happens you may also find that your blood glucose results may become higher or sometimes lower than previously.

If you ever find that your diabetes has become more difficult to manage than previously, speak to your health team who will be able to find time to advise you on how you can best cope with managing your sugar levels.

Blood glucose monitoring

Blood glucose monitoring, also known as

blood glucose testing, is an important part of type 1 diabetes and we need to test our blood sugar levels at least a few times each day in order to control our blood sugar levels and reduce the chance of having dangerously high or low sugar levels.

Blood glucose testing involves pricking fingers to take a sample of blood. It can be painful but, like with injecting, it does get easier over time. Many of us don’t like testing blood sugar levels through the day but the benefits of testing is that it helps us to avoid unpleasant high and low sugar levels which can make us tired and uncomfortable as well as being potentially dangerous in the short and long term.

Regularly getting high or low sugar levels can become demoralising but it is important to not let that put you off. If you respond to high or low levels by testing slightly more often and spending a bit of extra time thinking why you might be high or low each time, then after a few days or so, you will start to get more understanding and confidence in managing your diabetes. Put simply, setbacks can be overcome in the longer term with a bit of dedication.

Diet and sugar levels

Whilst insulin helps to lower sugar levels by allow cells to take in glucose from the blood, the food we eat raises sugar levels. When we eat, carbohydrate in food gets broken down into glucose during digestion and gets absorbed into the blood stream.

Our diet therefore plays a significant role in the control of our blood sugar levels.

Carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment

Because the carbohydrate in food raises blood sugar levels, it is important that we balance the amount of insulin we take at meals in proportion with the amount of carbohydrate we eat.

This therefore involves two skills:

• Ability to count or estimate the amount of carbohydrate in the food we eat
• Ability to calculate how much insulin is needed for that amount of carbohydrate

Carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjustment are key skills to learn in order to best control type 1 diabetes. Learning to balance carbohydrate intake takes a combination of knowledge and experience.

One of the best ways to learn how to count carbohydrate and adjust insulin doses is to go on a carbohydrate counting course. If you have type 1 diabetes and have not been on a carbohydrate counting course, or need a refresher course, ask your GP whether he or she will be able to refer you onto a course.

One popular type of carbohydrate counting courses is called

DAFNE
which stands for dose adjustment for normal eating.

Type 1 diabetes and transplantation

Another form of treating type 1 diabetes is to have an injection of insulin producing cells. This procedure, known as

islet cell transplantation, allows the transplanted insulin producing islet cells to produce insulin inside your body.

Islet cell transplantation can help to reduce the amount of insulin you need to take and can make managing your diabetes easier but it is an expensive procedure and has drawbacks as well. For these reasons, islet cell transplants are only given to a small number of people each year.

Preference is given to people that experience

severe hypoglycemia
on a regular basis.

Increased heat does affect some people with diabetes, and with heatwaves becoming increasingly commonplace across the globe, it is even more vital that you know the precautions to take and signs to watch out for when keeping safe.

What problems can hot weather cause for people with diabetes?

Dehydration can be an issue in hot weather, and higher blood glucose levels can further increase this risk.

People with diabetes should increase their intake of fluids in warm conditions by drinking water regularly throughout the day, compensating for what is lost as the body attempts to cool itself down through sweating.

One of the major concerns regarding diabetes and hot weather is the risk of blood sugar levels rising or falling and causing hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.

What are the hypo risks from hot weather?

Hot weather can increase the risk of hypoglycemia for those on blood glucose-lowering medication such as insulin.

The body’s metabolism is higher in hot and humid weather, leading to an increased chance of hypoglycemia as insulin absorption increases.

Hypos may be slightly harder to spot in hot weather. Don’t be tempted to disregard hypo symptoms, such as sweating and tiredness, as a result of high temperatures as it could be a sign of hypoglycemia.

Find out more about spotting symptoms of a hypo here.

Take extra care if you’re driving. Test your blood sugar before and after each journey, and stop regularly to check your blood sugar during longer trips.

To prevent hypos, be prepared to test your blood glucose more often, particularly if participating in physical activity in hot weather. Keep a source of fast-acting carbohydrate at hand, such as glucose tablets or a sugary drink.

You may need to adjust your insulin levels during temperature changes. If you are experiencing higher or lower blood sugar levels and need advice about adjusting your insulin levels, speak with a member of your healthcare team.

What are the symptoms of heat exhaustion?

The NHS notes that people with diabetes are at higher risk for heat exhaustion. Heat exhaustion occurs when your body becomes overly heated and finds difficulty in maintaining or adjusting its temperature. Being overweight or obese may also make it harder for the body to cool down.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Sweating more than usual
• Body temperature of 38°C or above
• Dizziness
• Cramping muscles
• Clammy skin
• Headaches
• Fast heartbeat and
• Nausea

By resting away from the glare of the sun and drinking more water you can avoid heat exhaustion. The symptoms you experience are the body’s signals telling you to lower your body temperature.

If you, or someone you know is suffering from heat exhaustion:

• Drink water or sports drinks to rehydrate
• Rest in a cool place – ideally with shade, fan or air conditioning
• Remove tight-fitting and/or clothing that is not required
• Expose as much skin as possible
• Cool your skin – ideally with cool water, spray, cold packs or wet sponge
• Fan your skin while wet to help your skin cool down

How can I tell the difference between heat exhaustion and heatstroke?

Signs of heatstroke include:

• Persistently feeling unwell after resting in a cool place and hydrating
• Not sweating even when you are feeling too hot
• Body temperature of 40°C or above
• Seizures
• Loss of consciousness or lack of responsiveness

Heatstroke happens when the body can no longer regulate the heat, causing the core body temperature to elevate dangerously.

If someone is showing signs of heatstroke, call an ambulance.

What about hot weather and medicine?

The heat of summer can be a problem when carrying diabetes supplies that need to be kept cool, such as insulin.

Get around this by keeping your medication away from direct sunlight and carrying cooling packs, which keep medicine cool.

Test strips are sensitive to temperature as well. Test your blood sugar in a cool, shaded place and keep your test strips away from direct sunlight as well.

Going travelling?

There are several other factors you’ll need to consider if you’re going away, such as time zone differences and the effects of long-haul travel. Read more about travelling with diabetes here.

What the community is saying about diabetes and hot weather

• Insulin in the summer
• Going Abroad
• Heat and blood sugars

If you are diabetic and treat your diabetes with insulin, hypoglycemia whilst driving may be one of your biggest concerns.

Having a hypo whilst driving is both frightening and dangerous so it’s important that hypoglycemia is avoided.

If you have

type 2 diabetes
and treat your diabetes with certain tablets, there is also the chance that you may experience a hypo whilst driving.

Which diabetes medications can cause hypos?

The following diabetes medications can cause hypoglycemia.

The DVLA must be informed if you are a driver and take the following medications:

• 
  Insulin
• Sulfonylureas
• Prandial glucose regulators

How to avoid becoming hypo whilst driving

• Always test your blood sugar before driving
• Take regular breaks to test your blood sugar
• Do not drive with blood sugar levels under 5 mmol/L
• If you have a bad hypo,
  
  treat the hypo
  and do not drive until 45 minutes after your blood sugar has risen above 5 mmol/L
• Avoid driving when tired or on medications that may cause drowsiness
• Have
  
  glucose tablets or sweets
  to hand
• Never drink and drive

Even for short journeys

hypoglycemia
can be dangerous, so test before each journey. Shopping can lower blood glucose so test before the journey back as well as before the journey there.

It is recommended to take a break at least every 2 hours to test your blood sugar and to have a carbohydrate based snack if needed.

If you are tired or

taking medication
that may induce drowsiness, feeling lethargic will not only make you less alert on the road but could affect your ability to recognise low blood sugar as well.

Learn more hypo symptoms linked to driving and how to prevent lows when driving.

Join the (free) Hypo Awareness Program »

Treating a hypo during a journey

If you notice signs that your

blood sugar is low
or you are otherwise concerned you may be low during a journey, find a safe place to stop and park.

Remove the ignition key and move into the passenger seat. This is to avoid any suggestion that you may be “under the influence” whilst in charge of a car.

If you are low, treat the hypoglycemia with fast acting glucose and sufficient slower acting

carbohydrate
to ensure your blood glucose levels are at a safe level for the rest of the journey.

Do not drive on until at least 45 minutes since your

blood sugar has risen
above 5 mmol/L and you feel fully alert. Following hypoglycemia judgements may be impaired for up to 45 minutes so you need to give your body plenty of time to recover.


^[84]

Hypoglycemia symptoms whilst driving

As hypoglycemia whilst driving is a dangerous situation, it’s essential to be aware of your

hypo symptoms.
If you notice any change in how you’re feeling or your ability to concentrate, make hypoglycemia your first consideration.

Common symptoms whilst driving could include:

• Staying in lane may take more concentration
• Finding it more difficult to focus your eyes
• Changes in body temperature – having a warm flush or suddenly feeling cold
• Starting to feel tired and/or yawning
• Feeling a tingling sensation, particularly in your fingers, lips or tongue
• A rise in your heart beat
• Feeling hungry
• Difficulty making decisions
• Stronger emotions than usual, such as angry, frustrated, worried, confused

If you notice one of these symptoms, take a break and test your blood sugar. Try to remember to

remove the key from the ignition

and test in the passenger seat as advised above.

Hypo awareness and driving

If you suffer from hypo unawareness, that is you have difficulty recognising hypo warning symptoms, the DVLA states that you should not drive.

If hypo awareness recovers, you may resume driving but the recovery of hypoglycemia awareness must be confirmed by a consultant or

GP

Can hypoglycemia affect my licence?

You must

inform the DVLA
if you have had any episodes of hypoglycemia requiring assistance (termed as disabling hypoglycemia) within the previous year.

You should also inform the DVLA if your

awareness of hypoglycemia
has become impaired.

What if I have an accident whilst hypo?

If you have an accident whilst you are hypoglycemic, you should get legal advice and the support of your

diabetes care team

The 4Ts of type 1 diabetes are the four major symptoms which can be used to spot whether you or someone else may be suffering from undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. Undiagnosed type 1 diabetes can be dangerous and around 1 in 4 people that are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes receive their diagnosis after a very dangerous condition called diabetic ketoacidosis has developed.

What is ketoacidosis?

Ketoacidosis
is a dangerous condition which can become life threatening if it is not treated immediately. The warning signs of ketoacidosis include vomiting,

dehydration
and an unusual smell on the breath. If someone is displaying these symptoms, call for medical help.