The introduction of the sugar tax in 2017 and the reformulation of some commonly used hypoglycaemia treatment options have highlighted the issue of healthcare professional recommendations for the home treatment of hypoglycaemia.
Diabetes Ireland has reviewed its advice and literature as follows:
"anyone purchasing minerals (soft drinks) for use as treatment for hypoglycaemia need to check the carbohydrate content at the point of purchase and/or consult with their diabetes team".
A product more recently available on the Irish market is "Glucojuice" which contains 15g glucose( suggested treatment option for adults) in 60ml making it an ideal hypoglycaemia management option.
Glucojuice contains 57 calories and is free from gluten, caffeine, artificial colouring, preservative and sweetener see https://www.gogluco.co.uk/juice/ for further information.
Glucojuice can now be prescribed and is available for people with diabetes under the Long Term Illness Scheme. This is because similar to other products such as Dextrosol Tablets it is classed as a supportive requirement at a reasonable cost to manage hypos. For further information, speak to your diabetes team.
Glucojuice is also available as an "over the counter" product from pharmacy outlets at a cost of €1.99. People with diabetes can claim tax relief on this cost as part of their health expense annual return submitting a completed MED 1 form to Revenue or via www.revenue.ie
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