What patient teaching is essential for sick day management in diabetes?

Sick day management teaches diabetic patients to maintain adequate fluid intake, continue taking insulin or diabetes medications even if unable to eat because illness raises blood glucose, monitor blood glucose every four hours, test urine for ketones if type 1 or if blood glucose exceeds 300, eat small frequent meals of easily tolerated carbohydrates, and contact the healthcare provider if blood glucose remains above 240 despite extra insulin, ketones are moderate or large, vomiting persists and prevents oral intake, or fever exceeds 101 degrees.