Medical Monday: Diabetes Alert Day

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - In this week’s Medical Monday, we explain the importance of mitigating diabetes and checking to see your risk for the disease.

The fourth Tuesday of March is “Diabetes Alert Day” according to the American Diabetes Association. RN Jennifer Smith, a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist says it’s an opportunity to shine a light on the chronic disease.

She says, " For patients to understand whether or not they have diabetes, how important it is to monitor your diabetes, especially for the long-term complications that can happen.”

Smith says this day is a good opportunity to visit the American Diabetes Association website (ADA) and take their diabetes risk assessment.

She says, " There’s a lot of different factors and depending on how you answer those questions and how you score. It will give you how much of a risk that you might have of getting diabetes.”

Activity levels, weight, and ethnicity are all considered contributing risk factors to diabetes.

Smith says, " There’s a lot of different factors and depending on how you answer those questions and how you score, it will give you how much of a risk that you might have of getting diabetes”.

If you have already been diagnosed with diabetes or you are susceptible, Smith shares that a healthy lifestyle such as being conscious about what you eat can help mitigate the disease.

She says, " Just having a healthy lifestyle in general and being active”.

If patients with diabetes don’t take care of themselves and have a high A1C, Smith says the complications can be devastating.

She says, ” Causes complications with the blood flow and the circulation getting to all those areas that need to be fed by the capillaries and, so that’s how damage happens with your eyes, your kidneys, your nerves. Diabetes is the number one cause of blindness, the need for dialysis, and the need for amputations because of the wounds that won’t heal, so it’s very serious”.

Smith does add that if folks take the diagnosis seriously and live a healthy style, and treat their diabetes, these complications can be prevented.

She says, " So if your sugars are in good range and your A1C is below 7 and you are being healthy. Your blood is not as thick and sticky as it would be if you had very high A1C and very high sugars”.

Some of the symptoms to watch out for are dry mouth, constant need to urinate, thirst, food cravings, tiredness, weakness, infections, and injuries that don’t heal as quickly as they should. And as always, for any questions or concerns reach out to your primary care provider.

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