My two-year-old son had a sore on his foot that took a long time to heal. Now he has another one; it starts out red then it opens up. I checked his fasting blood sugar and it was 128 mg/dl [7.1 mmol/L]. Is something about which I should be concerned? His dad has had diabetes for about a year.

I would not ignore the sore, but I would be optimistic that this is NOT a sign that your two-year-old has diabetes. Poor wound healing is usually a sign of chronically poor diabetes control in older individuals. A child this age would much more likely have symptoms of increased urination and thirst.

Talk with your child’s pediatrician about your concerns of inadequate wound healing. I presume that the glucose level you checked was with the dad’s meter. I would not make a diagnosis of diabetes in this situation with only a fingerstick glucose. Your pediatrician may wish to perform a fasting SERUM glucose from a sample right from a vein and sent to the hospital laboratory. I’d probably also suggest a urinalysis.

DS