Controlling Blood Sugar During The Winter
Its cold, there are fewer hours of sunlight and you are tired of dealing with your diabetes. For many people with diabetes, as the temperature drops, blood sugars rise. That’s because when snow, ice and cold weather keep you inside, you may exercise less and eat more.
Here are a few tips to better control your blood sugars during the winter months and keep those winter blues away!
Diabetes And Colds And The Flu: Your Otc Medicine Guide
- Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you don’t have to suffer with cold and flu symptoms. Learn which cold medicines can relieve your cough and congestion without affecting your blood sugar levels.
Cold and flu season typically gets up and running in early fall and can last until May. It can be an especially trying time for those managing diabetes since they can be more susceptible to illness. If that weren’t enough, sickness tends to cause stress, and stress hormones can affect your blood sugar. Diabetes and colds don’t always mix well, but they can be safely managed.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that every person with diabetes get an annual flu shot. For added safety, the ADA recommends that people you live or spend a lot of time with get one, too, since the flu shot is not 100 percent effective. This season, stay ahead of the game and talk to a Rite Aid Pharmacist about getting flu shots for you and your whole family. In addition to keeping up with your immunizations, it’s recommended that you wash your hands frequently and avoid spending time with others who are ill so you can reduce your risk of contracting something.
How to Choose the Right Medications for Relief of Cold and Flu Symptoms
If you decide to take OTC medication to ease your symptoms, make sure you:
1. Check your blood sugar levels more often than usual and watch for any unusual changes.
2. Check urine ketones with test strips.
3. Stay hydrated.
Treatment For Kidney Failure Transplant Or Dialysis
Many people with kidney failure can continue with treatment using medicines and will have good-functioning kidneys for the rest of their lives.
In a few people, kidney disease will progress to the stage where the kidneys stop working and it becomes life threatening. This is called kidney failure or established renal failure .
This rarely happens suddenly, and there will be time to plan the next stage of your condition. The decision whether to have dialysis, a kidney transplant or supportive treatment should be discussed with your healthcare team.
Read more about dialysis and kidney transplants.
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Symptoms Of Chronic Kidney Disease
Most people with CKD have no symptoms because the body can tolerate even a large reduction in kidney function.
In other words, we are born with a lot more kidney function than is necessary for survival. Kidney function is often sufficient if only one kidney is working. That is why people can give a kidney to someone needing a kidney transplant.
A change in kidney function is usually discovered through a routine blood or urine test. If you are diagnosed with kidney disease, your kidney function will be monitored with regular blood and urine tests, and treatment aims to keep any symptoms to a minimum.
If the kidneys continue to lose function and there is progression towards kidney failure , this will usually be tracked by blood tests and monitoring. If kidney failure does occur, the symptoms may include:
- weight loss and poor appetite
- swollen ankles, feet or hands
- shortness of breath
Dealing With A Head Cold When You Have Diabetes

You know that feeling: You start sneezing, your nose drips like a faucet, and your throat feels like sandpaper. You might have a headache, and you cant wait to crawl into bed. Before you know what has hit you, you have a cold, also known as the common cold.
Having a cold is miserable for anyone, but if you have diabetes, you may find that managing your blood sugars while you deal with a cold is more than you can bear. Thats because any type of illness or infection signals the body to release hormones that can lead to higher blood sugars. And when you arent feeling well, you may not have the energy to deal with those high blood sugars, either.
Unfortunately, theres no cure for the common cold. But there are steps that you can take to help you feel better and weather that cold so that you can focus on your diabetes and getting better at the same time.
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Can A Type 2 Diabetic Adult Take Maximum Strength Mucinex Dm
Home Q & A Questions Can a type 2 diabetic adult… Can a type 2 diabetic adult take maximum strength mucinex dm? Yes, a diabetic person can take maximum strength Mucinex DM. Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question . Can mucinex dm maximum strength cause dizziness? Can I take coricidin hbp maximum strength flu with mucinex dm? The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. Available for Android and iOS devices. Subscribe to receive email notifications whenever new articles are published. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Data sources include Micromedex , Cerner Multum , Wolters Kluwer and others. To view content sources and attributions, please refer to our editorial policy .Continue reading > >
What Else Can I Do To Stay Well
Ask your doctor if you need the pneumonia shot. This vaccine can also help protect you from blood infections and meningitis.
According to the American Diabetes Association, only 1 out of every 3 people with diabetes ever gets this shot. Yet people with diabetes are about three times more likely to die from flu and pneumonia.
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Challenges When Recommending Nonprescription Products For Patients With Diabetes
W. Steven Pray, PhD, DPhBernhardtProfessor, Nonprescription Products and DevicesCollege ofPharmacyWeatherford,Oklahoma
US Pharm
Nonprescription products and devices carry numerous warnings, precautions, and contraindications. One is a prohibition against use by patients with diabetes. Pharmacists must be aware of which products carry this warning when counseling patients with diabetes. Further, they should be able to suggest products that are safe or, when self-treatment of the condition might be dangerous, recommend that the patient visit a physician.
Take Your Prescribed Medicine
When choosing between pills and syrup, choose pills, because pills are less likely to have carbs. There are sugar-free options in syrups as well, so always check your label and dose insulin accordingly. While not food, you have to dose for meds ! Read more about cold medicine and how other medications can affect Type 1 management here.
You can treat the flu with antiviral prescription medications that can ease symptoms and shorten the duration of your illness, such as oseltavimir . For best results, contact your doctor as soon as you notice symptoms as treatment is most effective when started right away.
Verified by Natalie H. Strand, MD Dr. Nat was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 12. A Mayo Clinic trained chronic pain specialist, she is the director of integrative medicine at Freedom Pain Hospital. After her post-graduate fellowship, Dr. Nat competed in and won The Amazing Race on CBS. She has also worked closely with leading diabetes organizations to promote exercise and healthy living among people living with diabetes.
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Is It Ok To Consume Alcohol After Taking Advil
Some drugs harmful effects might be exacerbated by alcohol. Drinking a little quantity of alcohol while taking ibuprofen is usually not dangerous. Taking more than the authorized dose of ibuprofen or consuming a lot of alcohol, on the other hand, considerably increases your chance of major complications.
How Often Should I Check My Blood Sugar Levels If I Have Diabetes And A Cold Or The Flu
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides “Sick Day Guidelines” for people with diabetes. These guidelines recommend testing your blood sugar every 2 to 4 hours while you are sick with a cold or flu and tracking the results. You also should monitor and track urinary ketone levels each time you void . Follow your doctor’s guidance for additional insulin so long as ketones are detected. If you vomit, then promptly seek medical care at your nearest Urgent Care or Emergency Department.
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What Are The Acetaminophen Side Effects
Other major acetaminophen adverse effects include:
- Nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, or severe stomach discomfort are all possible symptoms.
- Urinary incontinence is a variation in the volume of urine.
- Feeling light-headed, sweaty, fainting, or weak.
- Bruising or bleeding that is unusual.
- Skin or eye whites that have become yellow.
Make A Plan For Sick Days

Everyone gets a cold or flu sometime. Your doctor, nurse, or diabetes educator can help you prepare. They’ll probably recommend that you do the following in addition to regular things like staying home from work, school, or day care if youââ¬â¢re too sick to go.
Check your blood sugar levels every 4 hours, or as often as recommended by your doctor.Ã If your levels aren’t near your target, you can tweak your diabetes management plan. Your doctor may tell you to use more insulin if your blood sugar levels are too high.
Test for ketones if your blood sugar level is over 240 milligrams per deciliter . Call your doctor if it shows any ketones.
Take your temperature regularly.
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Cold Medicines That Are Safe For Diabetes
Our expert pharmacist advises how to find over-the-counter cold and flu medications that are safe for your diabetes.
Searching for relief for your runny nose, sore throat, or cough? Many over-the-counter cough, cold, and flu remedies list diabetes as an underlying condition that may indicate you should leave the medication on the shelf. The warnings are clear: “Ask a doctor before use if you have: heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes.” Unfortunately, your doctor is not along for the trip to the pharmacy.
Because illness causes your body to release stress hormones that naturally raise blood glucose, you’ll want to be sure that over-the-counter medications won’t increase blood glucose levels, too.
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Simple Is Best for Cold Medicines
Keep it simple by choosing an over-the-counter medication based on the types of ingredients proven to relieve your particular symptoms. Often a medication with just one ingredient is all you need to treat your symptoms rather than agents with multiple ingredients. “To choose the correct medication, take time to speak to a pharmacist,” says Jerry Meece, R.Ph., CDE, of Gainesville, Texas. “The proper remedies may not only make you feel better, but also cut the length of the illness and possibly save you a trip to the doctor.”
Safe OTC Cold Medicines
Symptom: Cough
Best option: Anti-tussive dextromethorphan
Symptoms: Congestion, mucus in sinus passages
Symptoms: Pain and/or fever
Tylenol Cold & Flu Severe Side Effects
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction:hives difficult breathing swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
In rare cases, acetaminophen may cause a severe skin reaction that can be fatal. This could occur even if you have taken acetaminophen in the past and had no reaction. Stop taking this medicine and call your doctor right away if you have skin redness or a rash that spreads and causes blistering and peeling. If you have this type of reaction, you should never again take any medicine that contains acetaminophen.
Stop using this medicine and call your doctor at once if you have:
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chest pain, fast, slow, or uneven heart rate
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severe dizziness, feeling like you might pass out
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mood changes, confusion, hallucinations
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fever
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urinating less than usual or not at all
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nausea, pain in your upper stomach, itching, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice or
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dangerously high blood pressure .
Common side effects may include:
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dizziness, weakness
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dry mouth, nose, or throat
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feeling nervous, restless, irritable, or anxious or
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sleep problems .
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
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When Should You Check Your Blood Sugar
When you first wake up , before a meal, two hours after a meal, and at night are all popular times to check your blood sugar. Consult your health care provider to determine the ideal times for you to monitor your blood sugar.
I was just diagnosed with high blood sugar for the first time in my life. Im 48 years old. Diabetes runs in my family. I had no idea Id acquire it, but my doctor stated it was at an all-time high of 275+ and that I needed medication. I turned down the doctors offer and asked for a month to get it under control and rechecked. I got the pills here and began using them in conjunction with my diet. My doctor gave me the tester so I could monitor my blood level at home. After a week of taking it once in the morning before breakfast and once in the afternoon before lunch. Id check it in the evening. Surprisingly, it was at 102,105, and once at 98. And depending on what and how much I eat, it would rise to 120-128 after supper. A month later, I returned for my checkup, and everything was OK. Doctors say that if I stick to my healthy diet and exercise routine, Ill be OK. It actually works!! Ill be getting another bottle shortly.
Antibiotics And Kidney Damage
Certain medications are known for their potential to cause kidney damage, leading to acute kidney injury or even CKD. Acute kidney injury is the deterioration of renal function over hours or days and involves both structural damage and loss of function. Medications are one of the most common causes of AKI.
Antibiotics are the most common drugs implicated in reports of drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Certain classes of antibiotics are better known for their nephrotoxic potential, and they include:
- Aminoglycosides eg. Gentamicin, Tobramycin, Streptomycin and Neomycin
- Beta-Lactams- this group includes penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems.
- Vancomycin
- Amphotericin B- is actually an anti-fungal not an antibiotic
The way that antibiotics cause kidney injury varies depending on the antibiotic involved and the consequences vary from mild forms of tubular injury to significant deterioration of kidney function requiring acute renal replacement therapy .
Here are some of the consequences of nephrotoxic antibiotics:
- Acute interstitial nephritis- inflammation and swelling in the kidney.
- Acute tubular necrosis- damage to the kidney tubules largely due to high levels of oxidative stress.
- Intratubular crystal deposition- some medications are insoluble in urine and form crystal deposits in the tubules causing acute or chronic kidney injury.
- Tubular cell toxicity- direct toxic effect of drugs on kidney tubular cells.
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Flu Or Just A Common Cold
Signs and symptoms | |
Rarely | Common |
The symptoms for the common cold last a few days while symptoms of influenza usually last for more than a week. Flu symptoms are also more severe than those of a common cold.
Those of us who live with diabetes, even with good management of our glycemic levels, are more likely to have some flu complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, and ear infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States that about 30 percent of adults hospitalized for influenza had diabetes.
In addition to the specific problems of the flu, the infection can disrupt the bodys function to raise glucose and in some cases, a loss of appetite due to the flu can cause blood glucose levels to decrease.
What Are Other Ways To Treat And Prevent The Flu
Antiviral prescription medicines and an annual flu vaccine are available for treating and preventing the flu.
Prescription anti-flu medicines include amantadine , rimantadine , zanamivir and oseltamivir . These drugs do not cure the flu, but they can make the symptoms milder and make you feel better more quickly. They are only effective when used in the first 48 hours of flu-like symptoms.
These drugs are not needed for healthy people who get the flu. They are usually reserved for people who are very sick with the flu or those who are at risk of complications from the flu, such as people with long-term chronic medical conditions or older age.
Flu vaccine . Although there is currently no vaccine against the common cold, there is a vaccine to prevent the flu. The vaccine is available by both shot and nasal spray. It works by exposing the immune system to the viruses. The body responds by building antibodies against the flu. The flu shot contains dead flu viruses. The nasal spray contains live, but weakened, flu viruses. The nasal spray is only approved for healthy children and adults two to 49 years old and who are not pregnant.
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How Can I Quickly Drop My Blood Sugar
When your blood sugar level becomes too high a condition known as hyperglycemia or high blood glucose the fastest approach to get it back to normal is to take fast-acting insulin. Exercising is another quick and efficient strategy to get blood sugar levels down. In certain instances, you should seek medical attention rather than attempting to resolve the situation at home.