A cold is caused by a viral infection and can affect your diabetes care and blood glucose control. Your normal food patterns can be affected, making it necessary to adjust your meal plan. Your health care team can help you make a plan to take care of yourself on days when you have a cold, including monitoring your blood sugar and possibly urine ketones, adjusting your insulin amount and making a sick-day meal plan.
Effects
When you have an infection, your body releases stress hormones that cause your blood glucose levels to go up. When your blood glucose levels are too high, you run the risk of developing dehydration. A condition called ketoacidosis can happen when your blood glucose levels are too high and your body does not have enough insulin available. The American Diabetes Association recommends monitoring blood glucose levels every two to three hours, and that urine ketones may need to be checked as often as every four hours.
Food Choices
You may not feel like eating your usual amount of food when you have a cold, or may not feel like eating your usual food choices. However, it's important try to eat some carbohydrate so that your body has fuel to burn for energy and to keep blood glucose levels from becoming too low. The American Diabetes Association recommends a sick-day meal plan that includes 50 g of carbohydrate every three to four hours. If you do not feel like eating solid foods, you can substitute liquids or soft foods that contain carbohydrate. For example, 1/2 cup of orange juice or 1/2 cup nondiet gelatin both contain 15 g of carbohydrate.
Medicines
Discuss a sick-day plan with your healthcare team so that you know what medicines are safe for your to take when your have a cold. Some liquid medications, such as cough syrup, contain sugar that can raise your blood glucose levels. Over-the-counter medications can interact with your prescription medicines, so ask your doctor about what cold treatment options are safe for you.
Learning More
Your doctor or certified diabetes educator can help you learn more about steps you can take to manage your diabetes when you have a cold and know when you need to call your health care team for help. If you take insulin, discuss with her how to adjust the dosage when you are sick. He may also recommend that you test your blood glucose more frequently and to test your urine for ketones. A registered dietitian can also help you make a plan to adjust your food intake when you have a cold and cannot eat your normal foods.
