This is an item I rarely see in FAK’s, and yet diabetic emergencies are one of the most common medical emergencies you will encounter. I carry a tube of oral glc in my larger FAK (I’m not diabetic) and have on several occasions had to administer sugar to a diabetic outside of my work as a Paramedic.

A Hypoglycemic episode is the most common diabetic emergency, and it can have significant neurological consequences if it isn’t dealt with promptly. The beauty of oral glucose or other high glycemic index sugar products is that they work fast, and are very safe to give, without an absolute diagnosis of hypoglycemia. In other words, even if the patient is suffering a hyperglycemic episode, or some completely unrelated issue, giving a diabetic sugar won’t do any harm (unless they are unconscious and you compromise their airway by shoving cookies in their mouth).

Personally, I think a bit of oral glucose or high GI candies etc are a good addition to any FAK. Food for thought… (pardon the pun).

PS. Oral glucose tastes AWEFUL, but it is cheap, keeps well, and can carefully be administered to a patient with a decreased level of consciousness if you are trained to do so. Candy or a chocolate bar is a good alternative (I used to keep a couple chocolate bars handy, but kept eating them).