Beginner's Guide: Living with Diabetes

10 Tips for Daily Living

Living with diabetes is more then checking sugars, taking medicines and eating properly. It is very important to make sure to manage all these as part of living with diabetes. However, there are many other things to take into consideration when living with diabetes. This guide is meant to compliment standard diabetes health care such as diet control, medications, blood sugar monitoring and office visits to health care professionals.

Beginner's Guide: Living with Diabetes #1: Daily Self Check

A daily self check requires that you check your entire body daily for wounds or injuries. It is not uncommon for healthy people to obtain small scratches or injuries without realizing it when the incident occurs. With diabetes, circulation can be decreased and skin sensitivity is often less then with non-diabetics.

People with diabetes need to check feet and hands daily. Look for any bruises, scratches or cuts that are new. Examine present wounds and check for signs of infection such as pus, swelling, sensitivity or redness around the wound. These can all be signs of infection that need to be examined by a health care provider. Make sure that wounds are being attended by a health care provider to prevent further infection or other medical complications.

Beginner's Guide: Living with Diabetes #2: Reduce Germs in the Home

Diabetes can result in a weaker immune system. A weaker immune system means that having diabetes makes the person catch colds and other illnesses easier then a non-diabetic person. It is very important to reduce germs that are in the home.

Spray the home daily with a disinfectant spray. Make sure to spray all door handles, light switch plates, remote controls, kitchen cabinet handles, refrigerator door and freezer handles, video game controllers, keyboards, faucets and toilets. Germs remain alive longer on hard surfaces, so make sure frequently used hard surfaces are sprayed with a disinfectant at least once daily.