My daughter, Emma (age 9) was diagnosed with type 1 about a month ago. We're doing fine, adjusting to all of the changes. The other day, we got a call from school (I thought it was about her BS going low) that it looks like she has fifth disease (a rash that is often called "slap face disease") because it had been going around her school. She's fine & it's not serious but she has a rash on her arms & legs that's itchy. My Dad took benadryl to school & gave it to her, not realizing it has sugar in it to taste good, & her BS went way up. We were able to find the dye-fee/sugar-free version & it's been fine since.
This leads to my question. Are there sugar-free options for children's pain reliever/fever reducer & cold medicine? If so, where can we find it (we live in Hawaii)? If not, what do other people do when their child needs some sort of OTC medication?
There is a line of cold/fever medicine available over the counter. There is one called diabetic - tussin for colds. My son however hates it. It has a very strong minty/bitter taste.
I haven't tried the diabetic line yet but I have seen a few options in the pharmacy area of the Walmart/ Kmart? Rite-Aid stores. Same area that you would get glucose tabs or disposable containers, etc.
My son was diagnosed about 6 weeks ago and we had a similar issue. He has severe knee pain and we were looking for a sugar-free Tylenol. The hospital recommended a pharmacy that mixes these in house. It isn't a chain pharmacy, it is a specalty one. It might be hard to find in Hawaii. I am in the Chicago area, so it was pretty easy to locate a pharmacy that would mix one that also added flavor and my five-year old son liked the taste. Someone told me that the chain pharmacies like Osco and Walgreens may be able to special order the sugar-free versions, but I don't know about flavorings. Good luck with everything! We are now going through the honeymoon phase and we are able to use the sugar filled pain relief again. What a rollercoaster!
The amount of sugar in cold meds is in the Book called Calorie King. It will tell you how much is in Tynelol and cough syrup. Its not that much and the sugar kind sure goes down easier when your sick..
My daugherr doesn't like the sugar free medicine either. (I don't blame her it smells nasty.) We give her the regular children's trylenol, and just keep a close eye on her blood sugars. She usually runs high anyway when she is sick so I don't really think the tylenol makes too much of a difference.