Covid-19: A Guide For Diabetes Patients

At the outset, it must be admitted that COVID-19 being a new medical issue, there is not much data about the connection between this viral infection and diabetes.

- Dr Vijay Viswanathan MD PhD FRCP [London]

The most important factor to keep in mind, however, is to avoid infections and maintain good control of diabetes at all times.

Diabetes patients should aim to keep the fasting blood sugar below 110 mg/ dl and the after meals blood sugar levels below 160 mg/dl. Elderly people can have blood sugar 10 to 20 per cent above these levels.

The best way to monitor sugar levels is to have a reliable blood glucose monitor at home and monitor the fasting and after meals blood sugar twice a week. People on insulin should check more often. If there is a wide fluctuation in the blood sugar level, it is now possible to have a sensor attached to the skin and do a bloodless ambulatory glucose monitoring, which gives more than 1000 readings over a 14 day period.