How To Prevent Complications Of Diabetes?

When you or your family person has diabetes, it is most important that you acknowledge how to put a stop to these complications.

Here are some general points to keep in mind:

1. You are carrying on good blood sugar control. Don’t ignore whatever medications or insulins you might be taking, it is very important to monitor your diabetes yourself at home as per your doctor’s recommendations. The monitoring should be done once a month to 3-4 times a day as per specific case, depending on how you are doing and what treatment you are on. People who monitor diabetes regularly tend to have better diabetes control compared to people who do not.
2. You are caring for your BP (blood pressure). It helps decrease the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney problems and retinopathy as well. It will also help to manage diabetes as well on time.
3. You are keeping your cholesterol in check. There is a lot of incongruous news that you would come across when it comes to cholesterol. There is a lot known about the effect of cholesterol on diabetes related complications and still a lot more, which is unknown. As per the recommendations worldwide, it is highly advisable that cholesterol levels must be checked for people with diabetes. The ideal level is fixed on some factors like your family history, history of smoking, or history of medical problems. So take recommendations from your doctor regarding your cholesterol level goals and whether you need to be on medications for that. If a cholesterol-lowering medicine is recommended for you, you would need to take it for a long time.
4. Stop smoking. Smoking is a big “NO-NO”! In addition to the known problems associated with smoking, the combination of diabetes and smoking increases your risk of diabetes related complications manifold. Quitting smoking will help decrease the risk of diabetes-associated complications.
5. Regular health checks: In addition to your traditional doctor’s visit, it is advised that you get a dental and complete eye check-up once a year for sure, whether you have any problems or not. A lot of diabetes related problems do not have any symptoms beforehand, so screening for those early on is important.
6. Regular monitoring of sugar during pregnancy: Some women develop diabetes while pregnant even who haven’t ever been diagnosed with diabetes. It is a condition in which your sugar levels go up during pregnancy. If one doesn’t take care of it on time then it can affect your baby & you.
7. Vaccination: Just like we recommend vaccines for children to help decrease the risk of certain infections, we recommend certain vaccines for adults with diabetes also help reduce the risk of certain illnesses like Hepatitis B, Influenza, Pneumonia and Tetanus regularly. Discuss regarding vaccination with your doctor in your yearly visit and maintain a record of your vaccinations.
8. Consult your doctor on How to manage Blood Sugar level while taking steroids.