When your young child is a diabetic, it can be unnerving to leave him or her with a babysitter. So many things could go wrong. What if your son experiences insulin shock while you’re away? What if your daughter develops hyperglycemia and gets a stomachache? How will the caretaker know what to do? And how do you encapsulate what has taken you months to learn into a quick, easy lesson for a sitter? It seems impossible, which is why many parents choose to just stay home with their child.
Classes for Caregivers are Provided at Your Child’s Diabetic Clinic or Hospital
Grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other family members who might be caring for your child should attend a caregiver’s workshop, which are almost always given free of charge by your son or daughter’s diabetic clinic or hospital. Call and find out when the next class or workshop will be offered. Insist that your relatives attend one as soon as possible. Diabetes is a family disease, affecting everyone who is involved with your child. The more everyone is educated, the better.
The following is a checklist which I’ve created, which you can go over with your child’s caregiver or babysitter prior to leaving your child. Sit down and discuss each point, making sure each one is clearly understood. This should ideally be a review and not a crunch course:
Basic Knowledge – Your Caregiver Should Know the Following:
- Generally, what diabetes is.
- What your child’s insulin regimen is. (Have it clearly posted.)
- How to use a glucometer.
- How to use a syringe and measure insulin. (Do not allow anyone to give your child insulin who hasn’t taken a hospital course or repeatedly demonstrated proficiency in your presence.)
- Where the diabetic supplies are located in the house.
- How to use a glucagon injection in the event of an emergency (very important).
- Generally what foods contain carbohydrates, and what snacks are appropriate for your son or daughter. Is there a nutrition guide available to count carbohydrates?
The Caregiver Should Also Know…
Emergency Information:
- Dad’s Cell Phone Number
- Mom’s Cell Phone Number
- Close Relative Phone Number
- Child’s Diabetic Nurse or Doctor on Call – Name and number
How to Treat Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)
What are the symptoms?
If the child is conscious and able to swallow:
- Test the child’s blood sugar using his glucometer. If the reading is lower than 70 mg/dl, give one of the following:
- ½ cup juice
- 1 cup milk
- 2 glucose tablets
- ½ can of soda pop (NOT diet)
- Symptoms should improve in 15 minutes. Retest blood sugar at that time. If reading has not improved (should be 80 mg/dl or higher) repeat step 1.
- When the blood glucose reading is 80 mg/dl or above, give a small snack unless a meal is scheduled within the next 30 minutes.
- Call parents and let them know about the low blood sugar.
If the child is conscious but uncooperative or disoriented:
- Squeeze a tube of glucose gel into the child’s mouth. Use more than half the tube.
- Look for symptoms improving, and if they are, test blood sugar. If blood sugar is lower than 70 mg/dl, give ½ cup juice, 1 cup milk, or ½ can of soda (not diet).
- If the child doesn’t seem to be improving, call parents immediately.
If the child is having a seizure or is unconscious:
- CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY.
- Notify the parents.
What should caregivers know about hyperglycemia (high blood sugars)?
Although hyperglycemia is not desirable, a child on insulin with a high blood sugar reading (over 200 mg/dl) is not in a life or death situation. The child needs more insulin to bring down the blood sugar, but it’s likely this could wait for the parents to return home. The general symptoms include stomachache, dizziness, and feeling ill. It’s often hard to tell whether a child’s symptoms indicate high or low blood sugar, so the caregiver should be instructed to test the blood sugar whenever there’s a concern, and call the parents.
It’s important for parents of diabetic children to be able to have a break. This is why taking the time to educate several caregivers is so important. Your child cannot be with you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You must be able to trust several people to care for your child in your absence. What if you became ill or had an accident and had to be hospitalized? Educating caregivers will give you peace of mind.
Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here.