4 Ways In Which The Role of Caregiver is Important for a Diabetic

Navratri has just ended and we are approaching Diwali. Diwali in India is celebrated with the same fervor as Christmas worldwide, and this festive season in our country brings gifts and sweets along with it. We plan trips, visits and picnics around these festivities. In other words, our lifestyle changes during such festivities. We eat out, sleep late and exercising takes a backseat. And the worst part is some of these changes become permanent. It is fine if you don’t have any underlying health problems but if you are a diabetic then you can’t afford these changes in your lifestyle.

In such situations, the role of a caregiver becomes important. The caregiver needs to take care of four aspects for a diabetic during the festivities.

Managing Diet and Encouraging Exercise

Managing diet during festivities becomes the most difficult thing for a diabetic as relatives and guests encourage everyone to have sweets. Here, the caregiver has to make sure that diabetic eats in moderation. If you are going for a trip or picnics, make sure the diabetic eats on time. Along with the diet if you add Ensure Diabetes Care in their routine, it will help in controlling blood sugar levels as it starts working from day one.[1]

Along with managing diet, the caregiver needs to encourage the diabetic to indulge in some form of exercise. Festivities make people lazy and in such a situation, the caregiver should get up with the diabetic and exercise with him/her. In my case, I get up early in the morning with my mother and go for a walk with her.

Checking blood sugar levels

The festive season is also accompanied with a variety of seasonal changes. These changes affect our lifestyle as a whole. Thus, monitoring the blood sugar levels becomes highly important. Here, the caregiver has to take the responsibility of checking the blood sugar levels regularly. Here too Ensure Diabetes Care can become a partner as it has all the nutrients to keep blood sugar levels in control.

Feet

As per various studies, around 50% of people with diabetes have some kind of diabetic neuropathy. He/she can have damage in any part of the body but feet and legs are most often affected.[1] If the nerve damage is in the feet then the diabetic might feel numbness in toes, lack of feeling in feet, burning sensation or swelling may increase in feet or legs.[2]

During festivities especially, my mother is on her feet the whole time. She’s either in the kitchen or running from one room to another, organizing everything. During this time, she forgets to take care of herself and though she knows it’s important to take care of her feet, it becomes less of a priority for her.

In such cases, the caregiver needs to take extra care of the feet. He/she should inspect the feet daily, make sure that they are cleaned with lukewarm water and take care of the moisturization as well. The caregiver should make sure that the nails are cut carefully and slowly as the healing of cuts and sores takes extra time.[3]

Medication

Diwali and other festivals are a time to relax and enjoy. And in such circumstances, people often compromise with the medication. On trips and picnics, people forget to take medicines along with them or don’t take them on time. Here, again the role of the caregiver becomes important. Whether the family is on a vacation or going for a picnic, the caregiver needs to make sure that the diabetic takes his/her medicines on time. Yes, it is time to relax and enjoy but not at the cost of your health.

So, these are the four aspects in which the role of caregivers in diabetes in India becomes important. Do let me know your thoughts on it or share your experience in the comments below.

References

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/healthy-feet.html

[1] https://youtu.be/d0qSuzWKGHY  

[2] https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx

[3] https://www.foothealthfacts.org/conditions/diabetic-foot-care-guidelines