DIAGNOSIS
Contact your diabetes care team or GP for advice immediately if you think that you or your child are experiencing early symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis, and self-testing shows you have a high blood glucose and/or ketone level.
TREATMENT
In most cases, people with diabetic ketoacidosis need to be treated in hospital.
While in hospital, you’ll usually receive a combination of:
- fluids pumped directly into a vein to rehydrate your body
- insulin (usually pumped into a vein)
- replacement of minerals you may have lost, such as potassium
You’ll be closely monitored to check how well you’re responding to treatment.
As long as there are no further problems, you should be able to leave hospital when you’re well enough to eat and drink normally and tests show a safe level of ketones in your body.
Before being discharged from hospital, a diabetes nurse will talk to you about why you developed diabetic ketoacidosis and help you come up with a plan to prevent future episodes.