Every diabetic tries to live up to the quote, ‘I may have diabetes but diabetes does not have me.’ But it is not easy to have diabetes and let it not affect you. There are frequent tests, monitoring, insulin pumps and so much more. One can be overwhelmed with the sudden change in their lifestyle. With experiences we learn to manage it better. To make things easier for you we have made a concise guide for every diabetic to include as a part of their daily routine. They are simple routines every diabetic must engrave in their minds.
Check For Sores and Abrasions
Your doctor may have already told you, that diabetics take longer to heal from wounds than most others. How do you solve this problem? Simple, make sure you don’t have any scars and bruises in the first place. This means that checking for scars and bruises should be a part of your everyday routine. Spend 15 minutes every day after a shower to check your feet, calves, ankles and particularly between the fingers of your feet for scars, bruises, and aberrations.
If you see an aberration you can treat it with a disinfectant if it is small. However, it is always best to consult your doctor to prevent it from getting serious. Your doctor will clean the area and rid it of dead cells and infections; they will also provide it with a clean dressing depending on the seriousness of the wound.
Maintaining Personal Hygiene With Diabetes
Personal hygiene is important for everyone, but like everything else, it is absolutely crucial for diabetics. It is important for those with high blood sugar to keep themselves clean and dry. This is because the high sugar content in their blood often attracts bacterial infections. This is why diabetics are prone to oral infections. The moistness in their mouth often attracts infection. As a result, diabetics must take extra care of their teeth and gums and arrange sessions with the dentist after an interval of 6 months. Once you have an oral infection it is harder to treat it than it is for a non-diabetic patient. So it’s always better to keep an eye on those pearly whites.
Women are more susceptible to vaginal infections because of higher moisture levels in their genitals. Some cosmetic products can also cause skin eruptions and infections. As for men, they must be more careful while shaving as it may cause cuts. When it comes to picking cosmetics and shaving products, a diabetic must be extra careful and pick ingredients that are organic and pure.
While we set out to take care of our entire body we often neglect our feet while they are extremely prone to infections. Our feet face maximum pressure from the rest of our body and they are confined all day in socks and shoes where they sweat and ache. If we neglect our feet, this may lead to severe infection around your feet.
Do make sure you wear the right kind of sweat absorbent socks, made especially for diabetics, when you set out for a long eventful day. When you come back home, it is important thoroughly clean your feet and pat dry them before you wear a clean pair of socks. Though everyone should do this, diabetics can protect themselves from a bad case of infection by maintaining this healthy habit.
Eating Right
We can’t stress enough how important it is for diabetics to eat healthily. High blood sugar makes our body receptive and an unhealthy diet will only propel the onset of severe health problems. In simpler terms, our body starts to fall apart much faster as our organs try to work through the pressure.
Check out our article on ‘Popular Indian Staples that are Good For Diabetics in India’ to know more about healthy Indian staples that a diabetic must include in their daily diet. We have a lot of healthy eating options in India it’s just a matter of choice that will separate us from the unhealthy eating.
Go for meals that have a high glycaemic index and involves a minimal cooking time. Avoid eating direct sugar because your body already produces enough of it. You can have a small number of healthy fats and spices in your meal but avoid sugars altogether.
Workout Guide
Last but definitely not the least, a workout regime is very important for a healthy body. It is definitely that extra step that keeps your body light and functioning. Your current health and lifestyle will dictate the amount of workout you will be able to do. But it is important to maintain an active lifestyle as much as you can.
If you are young and in good physical condition, consider learning a new sport like swimming or badminton to maintain an active lifestyle. It is important to work your legs, ankles, and feet everyday. The added sugar in your blood tends to act like a barrier to oxygen. This is why our organs are not able to perform their optimum best. By working out we tend to pump more blood and therefore more oxygen in and around the affected areas.
While exercising it is also important to wear the right kind of garments to protect your feet and promote better health around them.
We hope the above guide was useful. Diabetes can be a serious ailment or just a sneeze it depends on how you see it. With the simple guidelines mentioned above, you can breeze through it without a problem!
