Diabetes education

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Diabetic blood circulation in foot

Endocrine glands

Food and insulin release

Diabetes education is a crucial part of a treatment plan. Diabetes education focuses on ways to incorporate disease management principles into your daily life and minimize your dependence on a health care provider.

Diabetes educators have identified three levels of diabetes education:

1. Basic disease management, including basic "survival skills"
2. Home management
3. Lifestyle improvement

Basic disease management includes the knowledge and skills that a person who is newly diagnosed with diabetes must master before leaving the hospital or health care provider's office. These skills include:

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• Learning how to recognize and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• Learning how to recognize and treat high blood sugar (hyperglycemia)
• Learning how to select the right foods and when to eat them (diabetes diet)
• Learning how to give yourself insulin or take oral hypoglycemic medications
• Learning how to test and record blood glucose (see blood glucose monitoring) and urine ketones
• Learning where to buy diabetes supplies and how to store them

Home management skills will help you better control your disease and may prevent complications. These skills include:

• Learning how to adjust insulin and food intake during exercise
• Learning how to handle sick days
• Learning diabetes foot care
• Learning to watch for long-term complications of diabetes and managing commonly associated conditions (such as high blood pressure)

After you learn the basic principles of diabetes care and establish a routine (which can take several months), you may be interested in learning more about diabetes. Topics may include:

• Alcohol use and diabetes
• How to adjust insulin and diet for variations in meal times and changes in routine (such as exercise)
• How to handle eating out
• How to modify insulin doses based on blood glucose levels

It's a good idea to review diabetes information every year, because there is constantly new research and improved ways to treat the disease.

A certified diabetes educator (CDE) is an excellent resource for information on diabetes. This person is usually a nurse or pharmacist. Often, the diabetes educator can help you develop a management plan based on your: