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PrintBy Alison Evert, MS, RD, CDE, diabetes nutrition educator, patient education writer, and winner of the Washington State Diabetes Educator of the Year Award, and Riva Greenberg, diabetes patient-expert, author, speaker and Huffington Post columnist.
If your child has diabetes and takes insulin or another blood glucose-lowering medication, he or she is at risk for low blood sugar. The more you and those around your child at school — teachers, nurses, administrators, classmates, lunchroom workers, bus drivers — know about low blood sugar, its symptoms, and how to prevent a low and correct it, the more help they can give your child if necessary. Planning ahead and always being prepared to correct a low helps minimize problems with diabetes at school.
Lows can occur during the school day just like they can at home. On a daily basis, lows may result from changes in activity levels, food intake, or diabetes medicines. Common symptoms are trembling, tingling, sweating, dizziness, hunger, and having trouble thinking. A severe low may lead to irritability, emotional outbursts, seizures, and loss of consciousness.
Naturally, you want the people who are around your child during the day to recognize a low and know how to correct it. Younger children may not even realize they are low.
Just like at home, lows also can occur during or after physical activity. If your child participates in physical activity and/or gym class at school or after school sports, make sure the physical education teacher or team coach (and perhaps even teammates) know about diabetes and what to do to correct a low.
On a yearly basis (usually in the late summer or fall), you, your child's healthcare professional, your child, and the school administrator should develop a diabetes medical management plan. Many schools have a program in place to accommodate the needs of children with diabetes. If your school does, see if you can schedule a meeting with school staff — usually the school nurse — to discuss your child’s needs for the upcoming year.
If your school doesn’t have a program, ask for a meeting with the school’s principal to see if such a program can be started. At the very least, school administrators often welcome parents' help to educate their staff and your child’s classmates about diabetes and low blood sugar.
Having a child with diabetes can be challenging at times. There is so much to know and do, including preventing, preparing, and caring for low blood sugar. The more you, your child, and school staff know about low blood sugar and how to correct it, the more all of you can do to help your child stay active in school and in control of his or her diabetes.
How to Improve You or Your Child's Blood Sugar Management (.pdf)
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