Managing diabetes can be difficult on the best of days, but when a senior is ill, the task becomes even more difficult. Illness can cause a person\u2019s blood sugar levels to rise and can even cause more serious problems that can result in coma. When a senior with diabetes is ill, family caregivers and senior care providers need to take special care and precautions to prevent severe complications.<\/p>\n
How Illness Affects Diabetes<\/strong><\/p>\n When a person is ill, their body is under stress. Stress causes the release of certain hormones to help the body fight illness. Unfortunately, these hormones also cause blood sugar levels to go up and reduce the effectiveness of insulin. That makes blood sugar levels harder to control than usual. In Type 1 diabetics, uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to a dangerous condition called ketoacidosis, which can cause a diabetic coma. People with Type 2 diabetes are also at risk for coma as a result of a condition called hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic coma, which is similar to ketoacidosis.<\/p>\n While there\u2019s no need to call the doctor every time your senior parent gets a cold, but there are certainly times when a call to the doctor is warranted, such as:<\/p>\n What to Do<\/strong><\/p>\n There are several things that family caregivers and senior care providers can do to help diabetic seniors through an illness. Some of those things are:<\/p>\n\n