Assist Your Diabetic Loved One This Autumn

According to USA Today, one out of every 10 Americans suffer from some form of diabetes. This number figures to rise significantly over the next 25 years.

November is National Diabetes Month, and an excellent reminder that the entire family should be involved with making sure our diabetic loved ones stay healthy.

Here are some ways you can participate in healthy choices and actions with the whole family:

a.	Plan meals carefully. Everyone can benefit from healthful-eating guidelines that your diabetic family member needs to follow.
b.	Make fitness a part of your day. Taking a walk together is a great way to help the entire family stay in shape, and to help your diabetic family member control blood sugars.
c.	Feet can get cold on chilly autumn nights, so anyone with diabetes should wear socks to bed if their feet are chilly. They should NEVER use a heating pad or hot water bottle.
d.	Help your family member check his or her feet. It’s not always easy to look at the bottoms of someone’s feet, but it’s very important. Regular feet-checking can help you catch cuts, blisters, scratches, redness or swelling right at the start, before they become a big problem. So, inspect feet daily, and call our office at the first sign of trouble.

            

Some Diabetic Side Effects Can Be Prevented, Reversed.

When people hear the term “diabetic”, they normally think of a blood sugar imbalance. A shot of insulin, a better diet and things are should OK. Not so fast. What many diabetics don’t realize, there are serious side effects to this disease, which, left untreated, can be debilitating. Over the years I have dealt with dozens of patients suffering from peripheral neuropathy, a numbness in the feet and toes, which can often be traced to diabetes. A podiatric colleague, Dr. Robert Kornfeld, has written a thorough article on how to prevent and in some cases, reverse of the damage of Diabetic Neuropathy. It’s an excellent article for those seeking more information about diabetes.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-robert-a-kornfeld/diabetic-neuropathy-preve_b_527647.html