May 28, 2002
Sick Days
Question from Santa Barbara, California, USA:
My friend’s 11 year old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four months ago, and has had two flu-like episodes characterized by fever and malaise. His parents are very motivated to maintain good glycemic control and have been successful. Are people with type 1 diabetes and good glycemic control immunocompromised? Are they patients any more susceptible to infectious diseases? Is the “flu” handled differently in a child with diabetes?
Answer:
Diabetes does not make you immunocompromised. Having diabetes does not make you prone to more infections, especially if the diabetes is controlled well. Your friends are unfortunate to go through this experience. However, it is important to recognise that illness can affect diabetes control and it is important to keep on top of diabetes control during illness by frequent monitoring and giving extra insulin if necessary.
JS
[Editor’s comment: I’d suggest that this young man’s parents read about sick day management on this website.
SS]
