We need you! See how you can help us by volunteering at PDK »

Ask Our Team

Responses

Laura Plunkett says

First, I would call in advance and request some private time with the ski school manager and your son’s instructor. If you have prepared a handout with your contact information, his medical insurance numbers, his testing and snack schedule, and the warning signs of low blood sugar, your meeting doesn’t have to take very long. Make sure you review all the safety information and what to do in the event of a low blood sugar. Even if your son is carrying his own test kit and supplies, provide his instructor with some glucose tabs, a glucose gel tube, and a granola bar (or some other snack with carbs and protein) in case your son leaves everything on the chair lift. Oftentimes, ski schools have scheduled breaks, and you can coordinate with your son’s instructor to meet for blood sugar testing, snacks and insulin doses at designated times. You want to be confident and organized, so that the ski school staff feels prepared rather than alarmed.

Before the trip, you will also want to talk to your son’s endocrinologist about lowering his insulin doses. Skiing is strenuous, so that also means being careful overnight because of the delayed effects of exercise.

Alicia H. McAuliffe-Fogarty says

Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! As with everything children with diabetes do- skiing just takes alittle planning. Making sure he is not low when he goes up on the lift; cutting back his insulin a bit (temp basal for pumps works great) or giving him an extra snack before he hits the slops will help prevent getting low on top of the mountain. Make sure that his coat is stuffed with glucose tabs and maybe some granola bars, so in the event that he does feel low, he has stuff easily accessible. Also note that when you are very cold and shivering it may also feel like your low...advise him it in doubt treat it as a low (you can also correct a high BG later if it wasn't a low)....and have FUN!!!

We are here to help...

You can ask your neighbor what he uses to keep his lawn so green, or ask a friend for her famous zucchini bread recipe... But who do you ask those day-to-day questions about life with diabetes? Your medical team is the place to start, but we've gathered a few other experts here to help you out as well. Check out the latest questions parents are asking, and pose your own, too!

Submit a Question