If your family member has diabetes, you must know these things!

Severe complications of diabetes can cause blindness, kidney failure, cerebral hemorrhage, numbness of the limbs, and body pain. Therefore, providing good home care for diabetes is of great significance to improving the quality of life and survival of patients. So how to do good home care for diabetes?

Diet "Care"

・ Eat a balanced diet and choose nutritious foods. Daily food should include four major categories of food: cereals and potatoes; vegetables and fruits; meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, beans; and fats and oils.

・Limit fat intake. When cooking at home, you must consider the need for diabetics to control their fat intake.

・Relax restrictions on staple foods and reduce or prohibit the consumption of monosaccharide and disaccharide foods. It is recommended to mix thick and thin staple foods to lower the glycemic index of the food; monosaccharides and disaccharides can be directly absorbed into the blood, raising blood sugar quickly, which is not conducive to blood sugar control.

・High-fiber meals. High-fiber foods have a small specific gravity and large volume, occupying a large space in the gastrointestinal tract and easily causing a feeling of fullness. They can also slow down sugar absorption by delaying gastric emptying and changing intestinal transit time.

Foods containing a large amount of dietary fiber include: whole grains, bran, vegetables (such as celery, bamboo shoots), beans, etc. Therefore, it is recommended that patients with diabetes eat more foods rich in dietary fiber such as beans and fresh vegetables.

・Reduce salt intake. Excessive intake of salt can accelerate the digestion of starch in the body and promote the absorption of glucose, causing blood sugar to rise. A long-term high-salt diet can also cause high blood pressure, which is not conducive to preventing cardiovascular and other complications. Especially diabetic patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, renal damage and arteriosclerosis need to control their salt intake.

・Insist on eating small meals frequently and regular and quantitative meals. On the premise that the total calories remain unchanged, diabetic patients can divide their daily food into 4 to 5 meals, or eat until they are seven to eight times full each time without feeling hungry. This is conducive to blood sugar control; avoid eating in one sitting. Being overly full can cause blood sugar to rise suddenly, leading to hyperglycemia. At the same time, avoid taking too long intervals, otherwise it will easily lead to hunger or hypoglycemia.

・Drink plenty of water, don’t wait until you are thirsty, and limit alcohol consumption.

Sports "Care"

・Methods of exercise. The principle of exercise is to proceed step by step and persevere. The sports venue should be a place with fresh air and smooth pavement. It is best to exercise with other people, inform them that you have diabetes, how to handle it if an accident occurs, and try to take all protective measures during exercise.

Choose your favorite sports, such as tennis, badminton, table tennis, swimming, dancing, jogging, etc. For those who have no exercise habit in the past, you can try walking at the beginning. According to personal habits, you can also choose to do housework, go shopping on the streets, walk to work, etc., which are all desirable forms of exercise.

・Schedule of exercise. At least 5 times a week, 30 to 60 minutes each time. The appropriate exercise intensity is mild to moderate aerobic exercise, and it is better to sweat a little after exercise.

Keep your emotions stable

Overcome low moods. Family members should encourage patients to treat the disease optimistically, create a harmonious and warm family environment for the patients, care for and care for the patients, cultivate the patients' optimism and peace of mind, maintain mental health, and help patients with diabetes gain confidence in overcoming the disease.

Diabetic patients are often irritable, irritable, or pessimistic and disappointed. Family members should often enlighten the patients to make them cheerful, eliminate worries, and maintain optimism to facilitate physical and mental recovery.

blood sugar test

Testing blood sugar is one of the ways to manage diabetes, and the main method is to use a blood glucose meter. It is necessary to grasp the blood sugar fluctuations in the morning, noon and evening of the day, and go to the hospital for a glycosylated hemoglobin test every 3 to 6 months.

Home Care Considerations

Prevent and treat hypoglycemia. Blood sugar is not terrible. The key is to detect it early and treat it promptly to achieve rapid relief. But delaying treatment can have serious consequences. Therefore, all diabetic patients and their families should be alert to the occurrence of hypoglycemia and be familiar with its symptoms and self-rescue methods:

・The type and quantity of daily hypoglycemic drugs should be taken under the guidance of a doctor. And check blood sugar regularly, adjust drug dosage in time, and do not increase the type and dosage of hypoglycemic drugs at will.

・Eat regular and rationed meals to keep your daily life regular. When you have to postpone meals as a last resort, you should eat an appropriate amount of biscuits or fruits in advance.

・Keep the daily exercise time and amount basically unchanged. Try to arrange exercise 1 to 2 hours after a meal, because blood sugar is higher at this time and hypoglycemia is less likely to occur. Diabetic patients should not exercise on an empty stomach. If they have the habit of exercising early in the morning, they should eat properly before exercising. When engaging in longer-term activities, such as hiking, outings, etc., you can appropriately increase the amount of food or appropriately reduce the dosage of insulin (or oral hypoglycemic drugs) after the activity.

・ Try to avoid drinking alcohol. If you have to drink (such as attending an important banquet, etc.), you can only drink a small amount if your blood sugar is under good control, and you should eat some food before drinking.

・Those prone to hypoglycemia should carry sugary foods, such as hard candies, sugar cubes, biscuits, etc., with them to prepare for immediate consumption in the event of hypoglycemia. Record the time and frequency of hypoglycemia, its relationship with drugs, meals or exercise, symptom experience, etc., so that you can contact the doctor in time and adjust the treatment plan.

・Severe hypoglycemia reactions, such as confusion, etc., should be sent to the hospital immediately for treatment.
Protect skin and prevent infection

First of all, you should pay attention to personal hygiene. Generally, you should take a shower and change clothes 1 to 2 times a week. Keep your skin clean, especially your vulva. Clean your perineum every day to prevent urinary tract infections. Secondly, pay special attention to protecting your feet. Avoid wearing tight socks and hard-soled shoes to prevent foot ulcers that may develop into gangrene.

Protection method

・Check the color of the skin on your feet every day to see if there are water scars or damage, and deal with any abnormalities in a timely manner.

・ Wash your feet with warm water, avoid overheating to avoid burns. Dry your feet and massage them to promote blood circulation.

・Keep your shoes and socks clean, of appropriate size, loose and soft. Do not wear hard-soled shoes or sandals.