Ketones & Sick Days
Illness can make glucose harder to manage. A written sick-day plan, suitable ketone testing supplies and clear emergency instructions are easier to organise when you feel well than when you are already tired, nauseated or worried.
Editorial review ·
Ketones are produced when the body uses fat for energy. In a person with diabetes, high ketone levels together with insufficient insulin can be a warning sign of diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA. DKA can develop quickly and is a medical emergency.
Your diabetes team should tell you when to check ketones, which method to use, what the results mean for you, and when to call for help. Do not wait until you are ill to ask for this information.
People may be advised to check ketones during illness, vomiting, persistent high glucose, pump delivery problems, or symptoms associated with DKA. The threshold and response steps depend on the individual plan and whether blood or urine ketone testing is used.
Blood and urine results are not directly interchangeable. Always use the instructions and thresholds for your own test and care plan.
Keep the following together and check it regularly:
Check storage conditions and expiry dates. Some strips become unreliable when exposed to air, heat or moisture.
An interruption in insulin delivery may become serious more quickly for someone using an insulin pump. Follow the pump failure and ketone instructions provided by your diabetes team and device manufacturer. Keep the prescribed backup supplies available and know whom to contact outside normal clinic hours.
Confirm whether your plan uses blood or urine testing and check the exact compatibility, expiry date and storage instructions before ordering.
View ketone and urine testing suppliesCommercial disclosure: ToBeSugarFree.com and myApoteka.com are projects operated by BBOX LP. Product links are provided as optional resources and do not replace advice from your diabetes care team.
No. They measure ketones differently and may use different thresholds and response instructions. Use the method recommended in your personal plan.
High ketones can be associated with DKA, which can become life-threatening. Follow your emergency plan and seek urgent professional help when your result or symptoms meet the criteria given by your diabetes team.
Review it periodically and before travel. Replace expired strips, damaged packaging, used supplies and batteries that may not last through an illness.