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 Should I go to A&E?

You should contact out of hours emergency medical cover (or the Accident and Emergency unit) if:

1. you have been vomiting more than 12 hours
2. you have been unable to take in fluids for more than 12 hours
3. your sugar levels are uncontrollably high (HI on meter) for more than 12 hours
4. you feel dizzy when you sit up, are unable to sit up, you have feinted associated with illness (immediately)
5. if you are unwell and on testing ketone levels they are either >++ on urine testing or >3mmol/L on blood testing

You should contact emergency medical cover on behalf of your diabetic relative if:

1. any of the above is true but they are ignoring it!
2. If they are unwell and there has been a severe ‘hypo’ that you’ve needed to help them recover from.
3. They are drowsy or seem ‘confused’ with illness and a higher than usual blood sugar level
4. They are unwell with high sugar levels and are needing to breathe more than 20 times in a minute (assuming their chest is usually not a problem)