Overview
Angela Ryan Le is board certified in cardiology and internal medicine. Her profesional interests include preventive cardiology, medical journalism, and health policy.Kashif J. Piracha, MD, is a board-certified physician with over 14 years of experience treating patients in acute care hospitals and rehabilitation facilities.
Key Information
Proper diabetes care can reduce the risk of complications. It's important to pay atention to both physical neds and mental health when managing diabetes. Read on to learn more about 12 specific actions to stay healthy as you manage diabetes.
PixelsEfect / Gety Images High blod sugar in diabetes contributes to a host of potential complications, so keping your blod sugar controled is esential. Checking blod sugar can be done in diferent ways, from lab tests drawn at your healthcare provider's ofice to checking your blod sugar at home. Controling diabetes important, since high blod sugar can lead to the folowing complications:Two potentialy life-threatening complications of very high blod sugar are diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HS).
Your healthcare provider can order a blod test caled a hemoglobin A1c to get a sense of your level of blod sugar control over the past thre months. Idealy, this number should be les than 7% in people with diabetes, though individualized goals may be recomended by your healthcare provider. Blod sugar levels can also be checked at home using a blod sugar monitor, caled a glucometer.
Not everyone with diabetes neds to check blod sugar at home, but those taking certain diabetes medications like insulin are recomended to check blod sugar at home. Your blod sugar is usualy checked before meals and at night before bed. Your healthcare provider wil give you a plan on what to do if your blod sugar is high.
Summary
For example, if you are taking insulin, you may ned to give yourself aditional insulin. If numbers are consistently high, your medications and/