Diabetes And Disasters: How To Manage Your Diabetes During Disasters

Diabetes and Disasters: How To Manage Your Diabetes During Disasters

By Elisabeth Almekinder RN, BA, CDE 1 Comment
For years, I have been in the midst of disaster and shelter situations as a nurse for the State of South Carolina, and later North Carolina.
From Red Cross shelters, to special medical needs shelter, from hurricane, to tornado, to flood, Ive seen them all.
A disaster always takes you by surprise. Even if the news has been talking about the hurricane coming, until the tornado from the west side of it spins off and takes your home, you dont believe that it will ever happen to you.
Though this hurricane season is almost over, there are six weeks left to go, with an active Atlantic Ocean that seems to kick up a bigger monster hurricane every week. Hurricanes, and related flooding and tornados, are only a few of the natural or unnatural disasters we could encounter, where we might need emergency supplies for basic survival due to diabetes.
Earthquakes, ice storms, power outages from large thunderstorms, and even wars and terrorism, can present disaster situations. Currently in the United States, active shooter situations and terrorist related events have threatened the safety of some Americans.
The time is now to prepare for a disaster, no matter what it may be. When you have diabetes, there are certain things that you need to do to prepare and plan for any disaster that might come your way.
Ten days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, devastating the island and leaving US citizens without power, food, or water, many are still waiting for relief.
The headline on the news tonight is, Many in Puerto Rico without power, wat Continue reading

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Vitamin D: Making Sure You Get Enough

Not too long ago, vitamin D was all the rage. Claims about the benefits of this vitamin abounded, with declarations about its ability to help fight conditions ranging from cancer to depression to multiple sclerosis. While some of these claims have been shown to be unfounded, it is still a necessary — and essential — nutrient that all of us need, and many of us fall short. Here’s how to make sure you’re getting enough of this important vitamin.
What does vitamin D do for us?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.
Bone health: We need this vitamin to absorb calcium and to build strong bones (this is especially important to keep in mind, as people who have diabetes are at higher risk for bone fractures). A lack of calcium raises the risk of osteomalacia (bone softening) and osteoporosis (porous, fragile bones). Besides helping the body to absorb calcium, vitamin D regulates levels of calcium and phosphorous, which is necessary for bone health and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany, a condition involving spasms related to not enough calcium in the blood.
Immune function: A strong, healthy immune system is vital for helping us to ward off diseases and infections such as the flu and the common cold. In particular, vitamin D allows T cells, the “killer cells” of our immune system, to react and fight off infection.
Inflammation: Inflammation is the body’s immune response to a negative stimulus, such as bacteria or viruses. While acute inflammation is helpful — fighting an infection, for example — chronic inflammation can occur due to the immune system attacking the body, Continue reading

28 Experts Share Their Advice: How To Better Cope With Diabetes

Life is hectic as it is. There is the stress of school, the stress of job, the stress of doing a good job, the stress of being a good parent, child, friend, employee… you name it.
However, imagine, the added level of stress one has to deal with when it comes to diabetes and its management.
Having diabetes can cause both physical and emotional stress on the body, which in turn can further deteriorate ones’ health. When you are stressed, your blood sugar levels rise. When your blood levels rise, we all know the implications and complications it can cause to your body.
In order to respond better to our readers. we recently interviewed experts in the field of mental health for some of their wise advise.
We asked 28 experts (psychologists and psychiatrists) to answer the following question we are asked often: How people with diabetes can better cope with the stress that diabetes can lead to?
Please read below their responses.
We hope that this article is useful to you and teaches you some tools and techniques which can help you cope with your diabetes. Learning to better cope with your diabetes will help in keeping your stress levels lower and therefore, your blood sugar levels low as well. We would love to hear from you so please share with us your thoughts or any other comments in the box below.
1. Dr. Mark Komrad MD
There are well-established links between diabetes and clinical depression. First, we know that depression is associated with a 60% increase in the risk of developing diabetes, due to poor lifestyle habits common in those with depression. Second, if you have di Continue reading

Why is My Blood Sugar Normally High in the Evening?

The excess of sugar in blood level leads to a condition called diabetes, which is caused due to the nation utilization of sugar to energy. If this situation remains, the catabolism decreases and body suffers from various diseases which affect the internal organs. For a person, who has diabetes must have a watch on his blood sugar which is often seen to take a peek during evenings. Well, there can be various reasons as for why blood sugar levels rise during the afternoon or might be hours after having a good meal.
What makes the blood sugar level to rise?
In many cases, after you have your dinner, the food is being broken down into simpler substances like glucose. Now glucose can be utilized for utilization by the body and broken down into energy. While you are at rest the lover releases glucose in the bloodstream, that’s why there is the excess of glucose in the blood and while on being tested it shows the higher level of blood sugar.
The tendency, when the insulin released from the liver does not meet the requirement to utilize the glucose, thereby accumulating the excess of it during morning 3 am and waking up time is called the dawn phenomenon.
The solution is that you have to change the time of having dinner and then medication. Have an early dinner and thereby have medicine, so that it has enough time to work on your increase blood sugar level.
Somogyi phenomena: It’s been seen that people who take insulin during evenings are often subjected to low blood sugar at mornings. The reason is that rebound hyperglycemia, and this is very common in children who are affecte Continue reading

Smoking And Diabetes: Risks, Effects, And How To Quit

The health risks of smoking are well known, and most smokers already know the risks they are taking. For people with diabetes, however, smoking is a serious risk factor for numerous health issues they may face. Smoking may even cause diabetes. Quitting is the best course of action smokers can take for their health. However, some strategies may reduce the health effects for some of those with diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, accounting for at least 90 percent of cases worldwide. Type 2 diabetes is also closely linked to certain lifestyle factors, including smoking. In fact, smokers are 30-40 percent more likely than non-smokers to develop diabetes. People who have diabetes already and who smoke are more likely to have uncontrolled diabetes.
Smoking damages cells and tissues, increasing inflammation. It also causes oxidative stress, which is when molecules called free radicals damage cells. Both these conditions are linked to an increased risk of diabetes. They can cause other health problems, as well, including cardiovascular disease.
Research further suggests that heavy smoking increases abdominal fat. Even in people who aren't obese or overweight, excess abdominal fat is a risk factor for diabetes.
Health risks of smoking
The health risks of smoking are numerous, and researchers are constantly uncovering new health concerns associated with smoking. The habit of smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, while more than 16 million Americans have a smoking-related disease.
cardiovascular disease, including coronary h Continue reading