Diabetes Care
How Do I Care For a Loved One With Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant).
There isn’t a cure yet for diabetes, but losing weight, eating healthy food, and being active can really help. Taking medicine as needed, getting diabetes self-management education and support, and keeping health care appointments can also reduce the impact of diabetes on your life.
If involved in caring for a loved one with diabetes, there are different steps that can been taken to ensure that they remain in good health, keeping any diabetes symptoms to an absolute minimum.
Discuss The Condition With Your Loved One
If your loved one has Type 1 diabetes, the chances are that they’ve been managing their condition for many years. They will already know how to check their blood sugar levels and administer an appropriate amount of insulin, so you need to ask questions to establish how their routine works. Take notes and set out a diabetes care plan in writing so that you, your loved one and any home care assistants know what is required.
Type 2 diabetes is more likely to have been recently diagnosed, in which case controlling the condition will be as new to your loved one as it is to you. If this is the case, make sure that your loved one’s live-in care assistant is fully informed about what is required to control diabetes. Discuss the condition with your loved one and with their medical team, so that you are familiar with the type of medication and lifestyle changes that are needed.
Check Glucose Levels at Regular Intervals
Keeping a close eye on your loved one’s blood sugar levels is crucial to the effective management of their diabetes and is a vital part of diabetes care. It’s well worth noting that older people have a higher risk of experiencing hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar, which can lead to sweating, hunger, dizzy spells and confusion.
If this occurs, you or your loved one’s elderly care helper will need to administer an appropriate dose of sugar, or carbohydrates to bring the levels back to normal again. This could be in the form of a teaspoon of sugar or honey, a glass of fruit juice, or even a few savory crackers. If the symptoms don’t quickly resolve after this, you will need to ask for advice from a medical professional as a matter of urgency.
Look Out For Subtle Changes In Your Loved One
Keep an eye out for signs of the ageing process in your loved one. They may find that their vision is not as good as it was; they may experience more pain than before, and they may struggle with fine motor skills. Although these are typical aspects of growing older, the implications for a diabetes patient are a cause for concern. For example, your loved one may find it increasingly challenging to inject themselves or to perform the necessary pin-prick test to check their blood sugar levels.
If you see any changes in your loved one’s behaviour or manner, it’s essential to discuss this with them. Offer up solutions, such as taking over the injections yourself or by helping to set out the day’s medication in advance.
It’s also important to be aware of the increased risk of developing dementia in older people. Diabetes care can be successfully combined with dementia care, but it requires strict protocols to be in place so that everyone involved in your loved one’s care knows what is needed and when.
Organise Medication
If diabetes is to be kept entirely under control, your loved one will need to abide by a strict medical regime, with medication required at regular intervals. Missing a dose, or accidentally taking too much medication can have serious implications, so it’s essential to set up adequate controls. Many diabetes patients use dedicated pillboxes with separate compartments for each dose, making it easy to see where your loved one is on their schedule.
Where dementia is involved, or if your loved one is particularly forgetful, it might be helpful to store medicines out of sight so that they aren’t tempted to take an extra dose by mistake.
Encourage Regular Health Checks
Diabetes has several associated health issues, so it’s essential to make sure that your loved one remains as fit and healthy as possible. Feet and eyes are two particular areas of concern as diabetes often affects them adversely. Regular eye checks with an optician and foot checks with a chiropodist need to be arranged, either by yourself or by your loved one’s live-in care worker.
Prepare a Dedicated Meal Plan
Diet plays such an essential role in the life of a diabetes patient, and it’s well worth taking the time to ask a nutritional expert to prepare a dedicated meal plan for your loved one. Adequate nutrition is at the core of a diabetes management plan, and a trained dietician will create a menu that takes into account your loved one’s tastes.
It’s also worth seeking out a private care worker with experience in coping with diabetes in the elderly, as this gives everyone in the family peace of mind.
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