Diabetes is a disease that affects how her body responds to and uses blood sugar. When someone has diabetes, their body is not able to regulate blood sugar levels and may require medication, insulin, and other methods of controlling those blood sugar levels. Making some small changes, with the help of senior, can can help them with these adjustments.
Prioritize Preventative Care and Appointments with Assistance from Senior Care
Preventative care is one of the most important aspects of managing diabetes effectively. Your elderly family member likely needs to visit her doctor often for follow-up visits and bloodwork. Skipping those appointments is a bad idea because that’s how your senior stays on top of new symptoms and any aspects of diabetes that present bigger health challenges.
Keep an Eye on Blood Sugar Levels
Monitoring blood sugar levels is key to keeping diabetes under control. When blood sugar levels are out of range, that means that your elderly family member is more likely to experience symptoms that are not comfortable at all. It can be tough to remember to check blood glucose levels, though. Having a senior care aide with your senior who can help her to do this can assist in making this more routine for her.
Start a Plan for Physical Activity
Being more physically active is hugely helpful in controlling blood sugar levels and other issues related to diabetes. It’s important that your elderly family member clear her exercise plans with her doctor before she starts. She should find a few different ways to be active that she enjoys so that she can make them a regular part of her routine.
Adjust Dietary Intake
What and when your senior eats makes a huge difference when she’s managing diabetes effectively. Her doctor can give her specifics about what will most help her in particular, but in general it’s a good idea to stick to whole foods rather than processed foods. Fresh produce, lean proteins, and foods that don’t have a lot of added sugar are good basic rules to keep in mind.
Schedule Regular Eye Exams
There are a lot of potential issues that can become huge problems with diabetes, and many of them can be prevented with regular trips to your senior’s primary care physician. Another important doctor for her to visit regularly is her eye doctor. Vision loss is a huge concern with diabetes, but it is preventable with early detection.
Managing diabetes doesn’t have to be horrible for your senior. Working with her doctor to put together the best plan for her ensures that she’s covering all of the bases and having senior care providers available to help her with following the doctor’s advice.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Care Services in Norwood MA, or anywhere in Eastern Massachusetts, please call the caring staff at CARE Resolutions – (508) 906-5572.
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