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Lifestyle and home remedies

By Mayo Clinic staff

Diabetes is a serious disease. Following your diabetes treatment plan takes round-the-clock commitment. But your efforts are worthwhile. Careful management of diabetes can reduce your risk of serious — even life-threatening — complications.

Lifestyle for all diabetes
No matter what type of diabetes you have:

  • Make a commitment to managing your diabetes. Learn all you can about diabetes. Make healthy eating and physical activity part of your daily routine. Establish a relationship with a diabetes educator, and ask your diabetes treatment team for help when you need it.
  • Take care of your teeth. Diabetes may leave you prone to gum infections. Brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day. And if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, schedule dental exams at least twice a year. Consult your dentist right away if your gums bleed or look red or swollen.

Lifestyle for type 1 and type 2 diabetes
In addition, if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes:

  • Identify yourself. Wear a tag or bracelet that says you have diabetes. Keep a glucagon kit nearby in case of a low blood sugar emergency — and make sure your friends and loved ones know how to use it.
  • Schedule a yearly physical and regular eye exams. Your regular diabetes checkups aren't meant to replace yearly physicals or routine eye exams. During the physical, your doctor will look for any diabetes-related complications, as well as screen for other medical problems. Your eye care specialist will check for signs of retinal damage, cataracts and glaucoma.
  • Keep your immunizations up-to-date. High blood sugar can weaken your immune system. Get a flu shot every year, and get a tetanus booster shot every 10 years. Your doctor may recommend the pneumonia vaccine or other immunizations as well.
  • Pay attention to your feet. Wash your feet daily in lukewarm water. Dry them gently, especially between the toes. Moisturize with lotion, but not between the toes. Check your feet every day for blisters, cuts, sores, redness or swelling. Consult your doctor if you have a sore or other foot problem that doesn't start to heal within a few days.
  • Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol under control. Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly can go a long way toward controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol. Medication may be needed, too.
  • If you smoke or use other types of tobacco, ask your doctor to help you quit. Smoking increases your risk of various diabetes complications, including heart attack, stroke, nerve damage and kidney disease. In fact, smokers who have diabetes are three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than are nonsmokers who have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Talk to your doctor about ways to stop smoking or to stop using other types of tobacco.
  • If you drink alcohol, do so responsibly. Alcohol can cause either high or low blood sugar, depending on how much you drink and if you eat at the same time. If you choose to drink, do so only in moderation and always with a meal. Remember to include the calories from any alcohol you drink in your daily calorie count.
  • Take stress seriously. If you're stressed, it's easy to abandon your usual diabetes management routine. The hormones your body may produce in response to prolonged stress may prevent insulin from working properly, which only makes matters worse. To take control, set limits. Prioritize your tasks. Learn relaxation techniques. Get plenty of sleep.

Above all, stay positive. The good habits you adopt today can help you enjoy an active, healthy life with diabetes.

Prevention Treatments and drugs
References
  1. All about diabetes. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp. Accessed Dec. 25, 2008.
  2. Collazo-Clavell ML, ed. The Essential Diabetes Guide. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2008.
  3. Diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults. Bloomington, Minn.: Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. http://www.icsi.org/diabetes_mellitus__type_2/management_of_type_2_diabetes_mellitus__9.html. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  4. Gastroparesis: What you should know. American Academy of Family Physicians. www.aafp.org/afp/20080615/1703ph.html. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  5. McCulloch DK. Overview of medical care in adults with diabetes mellitus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  6. Your guide to diabetes: Type 1 and type 2. National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/type1and2/YourGuide2Diabetes.pdf. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  7. Diabetes in pregnancy. March of Dimes. http://search.marchofdimes.com/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=6&page_id=12648448&query=gestational+diabetes&hiword=DIABETIC+GESTATION+GESTATIONS+diabetes+gestational+. Accessed Jan. 29, 2009.
  8. Gestational diabetes. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  9. Am I at risk for type 2 diabetes? National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/riskfortype2/risk.pdf. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  10. Eisenbarth GS, et al. Type 1 diabetes mellitus. In: Kronenberg HM, et al. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/115481400-2/0/1555/195.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2911-3..50033-9--p1391. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  11. Diabetes and pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp051.cfm. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  12. Managing gestational diabetes. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/gest_diabetes/. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  13. Am I at risk for gestational diabetes? National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/upload/gest_diabetes_risk_2005.pdf. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  14. Diabetes. In: Williams Obstetrics. 22nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.. aspx?aID=738493. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  15. Pancreas transplantation. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/pancreas-transplants.jsp. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  16. Other diabetes medications. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/type-2-diabetes/oral-medications.jsp. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  17. Tetanus disease in-short (Lockjaw). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/tetanus/in-short-both.htm. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  18. Smoking. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/smoking.jsp. Accessed Jan. 1, 2009.
  19. Eye complications. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/type-2-diabetes/eye-complications.jsp. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
  20. Saller A, et al. Diabetes and osteoporosis. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research. 2008;20:280.
  21. American College of Endocrinology: Task Force on Prediabetes. American College of Endocrinology consensus statement on the diagnosis and management of pre-diabetes in the continuum of hyperglycemia - When do the risks of diabetes begin? http://www.aace.com/meetings/consensus/hyperglycemia/hyperglycemia.pdf. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
  22. International Expert Committee. International Expert Committee report on the role of the A1C assay in the diagnosis of diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2009;32:1.

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June 13, 2009

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