Developing a viral fever or flu-like illness when you have diabetes can be concerning, but require proper care and management. Remember, since diabetes is a chronic condition, you need to be very diligent about the self-care practices and take additional steps to keep both flu symptoms, as well as blood sugar levels under check.

Particularly, being infected by the influenza virus can induce stress on the body, make it cumbersome to eat, drive fatigue and also lead to dehydration- all of which can disturb glucose levels. Hence, one of the things that’s very important to do when you fall sick with the flu, if you have diabetes, is to keep monitoring blood sugar levels every four hours, and maintain proper eating habits, even when you do not feel hungry. Drinking plenty of fluids (preferably ones which do not raise glucose levels) is also crucial, since high sugar can cause frequent urination, and lead to dehydration. Skipping, or doubling down on medication doses is not advisable.

It should also be remembered that with diabetes, since the body has a harder time fighting off viruses and infections, the symptoms can take a longer time to go away. The illness may be long, and make your body very weak and drained.