10 Ways to Avoid Diabetes Complications

Diabetes care is a lifelong responsibility, ad takes round the clock commitment. Proper diabetes care can reduce your risk of serious – life threatening complications.

1. Make a commitment to manage your diabetes:

• Learn all you can about diabetes. Make healthy and physical activities apart of your every day routine
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Follow your doctors instructions for monitoring you blood sugar level

2. Schedule yearly physicals and eye exams

• Diabetes check ups aren’t meant to replace your yearly physical or eye exam

3. Keep your vaccines up to date High blood sugar can weaken your immune system;

• Flu vaccine
• Pneumonia Vaccine
• Tetanus Shot
• Hepatitis B Vaccine

4. Take care of your teeth

Diabetes can leave you prone to gum infections. Consult your dentist right away if you gums bleed or look red or swollen.

5. Pay attention to your feet

• High blood sugar can damage the nerves in your feet and reduce blood flow to your feet
• Left untreated, cuts and blisters can become seriously infected

To prevent foot problems

1. Wash your feet daily in lukewarm water
2. Dry your feet gently, especially between the toes
3. moisturize your feet and ankles with lotion
4. Check your feet every day for blisters, cuts, sores, redness or swelling

6. Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol under control

• High blood pressure can damage your blood vessels
• High cholesterol is a,concern too, since the damage is often worse and more rapid when you have diabetes

*A combination of these conditions can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other life-threatening conditions.

*Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly can go a long way towards controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol

7. Take a daily aspirin

*Aspirin interferes with your bloods ability to clot. Taking a daily aspirin can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

8. Don’t smoke or use other types of tabacco

*Smoking increases your risk of various diabetic complications, such as

1. Heart attack
2. Stroke
3. Nerve Damage
4. Kidney Disease

9. Drink alcohol responsibly

Alcohol can cause either high or low blood sugar depending on how much you drink and if you eat at the same time

10. Take stress serious

If you are stressed it is easy to not follow your normal diabetes care routine.

*The hormones your body produces in response to much stress in your life may prevent insulin from working properly