Hi there
I have a partner whose 8 year old son has type I diabetes. Whilst he was staying overnight with us I got to see first hand what a hypo is.
I would like to find out what products are available to give the necessary glucose fix with the least invasive way of getting him to take it.
It was awful to see and hear what he (& my partner) were going through trying to wake him and get him to eat jellybeans or drink sugared water when all he wanted to do was sleep and NOT eat anything. It took approx 4 hours to get his levels up to where he could be left to sleep for the remainder of the night.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

We mainly use some form of lollies - current fave is fruit jubes. Sometimes coke. You could try cake icing. We have some on hand for if Phillip can't eat. It's available in a four pack of tubes at most supermarkets. Called icing writing gels. You can squeeze it into his cheeks. I know Diabetes Supplies NZ have Carrero gel, which is similar, but most people say that tastes horrible.
Once his blood sugar is up some people use milk or go gurts to help keep blood sugars up. We haven't had any success with that, but others swear by it.
Can your partner ask the boys mum what she uses?
Good on you for looking for help. My DEX (Phillip's dad) is useless, and probably wouldn't know what to do for a low. He leaves it all to Phillip, which makes things a bit worrying for me when he's there.

A juice box (JustJuice etc) with a straw can be good as they often suck without even waking up. We usually use Glucose Tablets as Rachel will chew them in her sleep once I've forced them past her teeth.

Good Luck - Night Hypos can be very scary..

Forgive me if I'm preaching to the converted here.....

Please be careful when treating a hypo of anyone (child or adult) who is very sleepy as liquid or food may cause them to choke.
My husband uses the Glucogen kit on me when I'm too far gone (i.e. unable to drink or eat). They are mean't to be used in cases of severe hypoglycaemia only.
Glucogen kits can be used on adults and children (over 25kgs in weight) and are obtainable on prescription from your G.P.
Each kit contains precise directions on how to use and it is a good idea to make yourself familiar with this well before an event.

Good on you tip2jake for taking an interest in your partner's little boy. It takes a special person to care so much!

We use glucose powder dissolved in water in a bottle with a sipper top as Gabe will drink that in his sleep then I keep talking to him to keep him awake or read a story before I re-test his blood sugars.

The other thing we use from time to time it a teaspoon of honey.

The thing I hated when Gabe was on injections (v's the pump) is then getting him to a eat a snack when all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. (on a pump he doesn't need the snack)


I know what you mean about trying to get it into them. I've had times where I have had to force feed my son when he was about 2-2.5 years. It's heartbreaking and all you can do is keep in the back of your mind that it's for the good of their health and life.



Like Sugar moneky said though I'd be asking his Mum what she uses and what she does for hypos and follow that lead.

Yea, ok the glucogon kit is for emergency purposes.. Seriously, they hurt like hell and bruise the same too !

You can try honey or golden syrup rubbed into the gums (it absorbs faster) or glucose gel in the same way. This was the way my step faster used to treat my hypos when i was a child and unconscious.

Once awake enough and semi-cooperating milk and sugar, juice or the jelly beans is really good but if the sugars are rising take it easy on the sugar and watch the sugars..

Just be careful if you start giving lollies etc as rthey can cause major reactionary highs and then you'll have to deal with that too..

My husband has been type 1 for 41 years. He now has Hypoglycemic Unawareness.

I will not let him go to bed until I've seen his sugar levels are at least 7.5, and not going down either.
He moans I nag but he has had so many hypos and lows he has a certain amount of brain damage and also the HU, he can't tell anymore.

Last time he was hypo, I came home and found him on the floor. I estimate he'd been there for at least 5-6 hours. He didn't come out of it properly either.
It took 2 days before he got his speech back and stopped asking the same questions over and over every 2 minutes.
By then his sugar was 17, as before I called the ambulance he kept trying to eat more and more. Enough brain cells left to realise something wasn't right, but not enough for him to listen to me. Well he did, the info just wasn't sticking.

The hospital staff didn't think he would come right but again, mr 9 Lives got away with it one more time. He can't remember but it sure scared the hell out of me. Visions of him being like an alzheimers patient forever..

In the last 4 weeks he's had 55 lows - under 4.9 that is.

Do NOT stuff around, every time he's low enough to need treatment by another person it causes small amounts of damage.

The drs tell me, it wasn't so much his low when I found him, as the accumulative effects over the years. They want him to keep it up aroun 9 now. He won't though, he has a horror of high levels. Never mind he's now too old for high to keill him accumulatively......

I have glucagon. Lots of it.
If he can't or won't take glucose or anything, then it's the glucagon. Unconscious people cannot swallow.

Some idiot ambulance guy did that once after I'd called them. I turned around and here he was administering liquid glucose. After my husband had finished inhaling it all, choking, snotting it out his nose etc, I told the guy he should know better and what was he doing working as a medical person if he didn't.

Make sure your child isn't going to bed with a dropping level or a too low (considering the time until he's up again) level.

And don't mess around if it's too low for him to eat. Use glucagon.

If you use it properly and don't stab them near bone or let them move while administering it, it won't hurt.

Bruises don't occur normally. The only time husband got one, he flipped over straight after I'd put the needle in, he bent the needle.

Now I hold him so he can't squirm around.

pctek: I can understand that you have had years being an outsider to this disease, watching your loved one suffer in many ways. Ive lived with it myself for 21 years and I know it can be very scary for parents and partners witnessing a hypo that requires treatment from another person.

Your right: Dont stuff around with hypos. But in the younger years keeping the Hba1c around 7 is the aim because of developing brain structures. Being hypo (under 4) for too long can cause brain damage, yes, But being high (above 12) for too long causes muscle damage IE the heart. All in all it is dangerous being uncontrolled full stop. Having wide ranging blood sugars with big spikes and big troughs is debilitating and causes headaches, tiredness and irritability..

Those needles are big and they are sent out in a one size fits all emergency kit. For a child? Those needles are MASSIVE and they do bruise because of the size in relation to the size of the muscle its going into.. Personally? Yea, they hurt like hell when i was a kid but I would react well to raw sugar type products..

Yes, for the child.
For my husband? No, he's 63 now. The doctors want him to keep it up around 8-9.

The needles are smaller than the ones I have myself for certain 3 monthly injections. Which don't hurt.
Using it right helps.

It shouldn't go into an arm for instance.
In the bum is good.

Perhaps they should make kid sized ones too?

We have used Glucagon once when Rachel wouldn't (couldn't) wake up after falling out of bad one morning.
I used 1/2 the vial of Glucagon via a 50 unit Insulin Syringe. It worked perfectly.
Our Dr told us that the Glucagon needle is made for adults THROUGH clothing and can damage a small childs muscle. Now I keep a 50 unit insulin syringe rubberbanded to all our Glucagon. It was easy to use the syringes we were used to, rather than the honking great needle in the Glucagon package.

Yea, I think they give the bigger needles because its meant to go into muscle and for adults this is normally buried under a layer of fat..

That's a fantastic idea Jane! I'm perfectly happy using my insulins pens and have no trouble with needles but wow the glucagon ones are a bit too big and horrible looking for my liking.