We test our 4 year old daughter, who was diagnosed at 20 months old, at least 6 times a day, and we've noticed that her fingers now have many tiny spots visible all over them, and she's recently complained about some of them being sore. She's never complained before this. Does anyone have any suggestions or tricks on how we can help to alleviate her discomfort between finger sticks?
My 8 year old son has this issue, only because he favors certain fingers. Hand cream works for him and I encourage him to rotate, although out of habit he uses the same fingers over and over again. Have you tried forearm testing? I find it leaves more of a mark, but it may give her fingers a break.
Thanks. We haven't tried the forearm testing yet because we don't know how to do it. Plus, I think it might freak her out. Is it less painful?
My son just got diagnosed in Jan. right after he turned 2. Do you have any suggestions for snack ideas that a 2 year old would eat.
Dear Kristen,
I am so sorry about your young son's recent diagnosis. Caring for a toddler with diabetes is a challenge, and I feel for you. As far as snacks go, low carb snacks that Molly eats include: strawberries, blueberries (a little higher than strawberries), cantaloupe, watermelon, black olives (cut them up), pepperoni or other lunch meats (if you're worried about nitrates, you can get them without), cheese, hard-boiled eggs (but when she was younger, we had to remove the yolk - she also likes them with salt on them), soybeans or edamame (boiled and then chilled with salt on them), cream cheese on a spoon, and peanut butter on a spoon (can't remember if 2 is too young for peanut butter). For a special treat, Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream, although it does have carbs that we need to cover with insulin, it seems to be processed more slowly because it has a high fat content. I hope this helps. If I think of other ideas, I'll let you know. We do try to stay away from foods with artificial sweeteners, but in a pinch, we might use them every once in a great while. Please feel free to be in touch if you have any other questions or just need to vent. I will say that once Molly went on a pump (the Omnipod) over a year ago, it made things SIGNIFICANTLY more managable. Take care.