Anonymous Question Carer in need of advice for type 1 Patient.

[Anonymous Question]

I am a carer who looks after an elderly patient with type 1 diabetes, the district nurse administers the patients insulin. My question is what is high as on one occasions her reading just said High, I did call 111 at the time. My colleague said it was not uncommon and this mean 35 what does this mean? it then came down to 27 and the DN came out to see my patient. I need to now the facts so that I can act in an emergency.

 

[slip]

Normal blood glucose levels are between 4 and 8 mmol

 

[Squire Fulwood]

If the meter says high then you can believe that the sugar level is too high and literally off the scale. A healthy person would read in single figures. Don't give the patient anything. Rumours about Mars bars and sugary drinks are wrong when it comes to someone going off the high end of the scale.

If you are not trained in giving insulin injections then don't attempt it. Call the DN to do it.

 

[Brunneria]

Also, get them to drink lots of water, if possible. Nothing with sugar in it, not even fruit juice. Make it water if possible.

You can also call 111 and ask for advice, if you are in the uk. If they advise contacting the emergency services, then you can feel confident about it.

 

[azure]

If you get a high reading, it's always worth getting the person you care for to wash their hands and then do another test, just to confirm the result.

Do you not have a care plan or information sheet for the person? It would be good if you knew what to do in any circumstances that might arise.