Family Support Lies at the Heart of Diabetes Management

A Health Care Article Contributed by Dr s Banerji

Family Support Lies at the Heart of Diabetes Management

How should you react to news that a loved one has diabetes?

Displays of Panic and Recrimination Will Upset a Member of the Family Found to Have Diabetes.

Diabetes used to have fatal consequences before the discovery of insulin, but this need not be the case anymore. Insulin is not needed in all cases. Oral medication or even just diet and exercise can be adequate to keep blood glucose within normal limits for some people. Insulin injections have become virtually painless and can also be administered through programmed pumps implanted under the skin.

All these point to the safe and relatively convenient ways in which diabetes can be managed in a contemporary setting. Herbal and chemical sweeteners offer many alternatives for people with diabetes who cannot take sugar in the same way as other people. Children and adults alike need fear no major disruption to their lives because of diabetes. Hence the family should take the news that someone in the home has diabetes, with equanimity and calm.

A reasoned and positive approach will go a long way in building the spirit of a patient. A positive and a rationale approach is the first step to success in diabetes management.

Indifference on the Part of the Family Can Be As Bad As over-Reaction, in Terms of Impact on the Resolve and Motivation of a Person with Diabetes.

A family's health literacy helps a person with diabetes. Complications of diabetes can set in if the family is ignorant with respect to the disease. Eyes, muscles, the kidneys and the heart can all be affected if diabetes is not managed as per the physician's prescription. Diabetes requires regular blood glucose tests and visits to the clinic. A family has to help a member with diabetes stay away from tempting snacks, desserts and other food and drink that can do great harm in the long run.

A person with diabetes will need additional support from the family during trips away from home, vacations in distant places and whenever the daily routine is disrupted for any reason. People with diabetes can rarely manage their condition on their own and without meaningful and effective family support.

Family Support and Health Literacy are Cornerstones of Effective Diabetes Management.

We still do not have a cure for diabetes. It is a lifelong condition with which a family must contend. It can be fatal but need not be so. A person with diabetes must eat and drink specific things in fixed quantities at set times. The duration, intensity and frequency of exercise should not vary. Medication tends to be dangerous if taken in doses or at times other than those prescribed.

The balance of food intake, exercise and medication remains in delicate balance and may have to be changed after each visit to the doctor. Family commitment to help a member with diabetes live well and in safety, makes the difference between successful and effective diabetes management and cases of deterioration and successive complications.

Take heart and help a loved one combat diabetes.