Ask the Diabetes Educator Archive

1/12/05

Q:
Can illness cause high blood sugars in one who is healthy and does not have diabetes? If the blood sugar is high during an illness, does that mean the person has undiagnosed diabetes, or could the illness be causing the elevated blood sugar?

A:
This could be the result of glucose intolerance, or the pre-diabetes state. In a normal blood sugar state, illness would not usually exceed a threshold of about 140. 120 is generally considered the ceiling for normal blood sugars. What are you calling high? The first suggestion is that you start paying close attention to your lifestyle habits. If very concerned you can start testing your blood sugars at home, and/or see if your physician will order an A1C test for you (a blood sugar average for the past 3 months). If you do have pre-diabetes, it is very manageable with some discipline and willingness.