April 4, 2001
Sick Days
Question from Frankfort, Illinois, USA:
My eight year old daughter has had type�1 for almost two years. In the past, when she has been sick, her blood sugars have been high requiring more insulin, but for the past month, she has had ear infections and strep throat and her blood sugars keep going low. Nothing else has changed — diet, carbs or exercise. Can this be caused from being sick?
Answer:
It is worth talking over these problems with your doctor in case there is an underlying problem associated with her getting so many infections and having so frequent low readings. It may be that she is unfortunate and is having these infections for no obvious reason, but if she does have a problem, possibly hormonal imbalance, then it would be worth checking this out. A particular problem that may cause these problems is when the adrenal glands fail to make enough cortisol (steroid hormone). Talk it over with your doctor and see if he/she thinks it is worth pursuing this.
JS
