Diabetes Mellitus often referred to as Diabetes, is a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high blood sugar levels.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes three types of diabetes:
- Type 1 Diabetes (need insulin injections)
- Type 2 Diabetes (can be treated with medication)
- Gestational Diabetes (can happen during pregnancy)
Diabetes and its treatments can cause many complications.
According to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, diabetes can make the immune system more vulnerable to severe cases of the flu. People with diabetes who come down with the flu may become very sick and may even have to go to a hospital.
With the Swine Flu blossoming to over 24,000 cases worldwide and spreading to over 42% of the United States within a matter of a few short weeks, it's critical that diabetics plan ahead and take precautions.
Preparations And Precautions
The CDC warns that, being sick by itself can raise your blood glucose. Moreover, illness can prevent you from eating properly, which further affects blood glucose.
There are every day actions you can take to stay healthy.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people. Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing by infected people. If you get sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others.
Here Are Some Tips From The CDC:
- Be sure to continue taking your diabetes pills or insulin. Don't stop taking them even if you can't eat. Your health care provider may even advise you to take more insulin during sickness.
- Test your blood glucose every four hours, and keep track of the results.
- Drink extra (calorie-free) liquids, and try to eat as you normally would. If you can't eat normally, try to ingest soft foods and liquids containing the equivalent amount of carbohydrates that you usually consume.
- Weigh yourself every day. Losing weight without trying to is a sign of high blood glucose.
- Check your temperature every morning and evening. A fever may be a sign of infection.
- You feel too sick to eat normally & are unable to keep down food for more than 6 hours.
- You're having severe diarrhea.
- You lose 5 pounds or more.
- Your temperature is over 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.33 Celsius).
- Your blood glucose is lower than 60 mg/dL or remains over 300 mg/dL.
- You have moderate or large amounts of ketones in your urine.
- You're having trouble breathing.
- You feel sleepy or can't think clearly.
If things go from bad to worse, it may be difficult to find running water. However, it's still important to wash your hands to avoid illness or infection, especially when testing your blood glucose or treating a wound.
When your hands are visibly dirty, you should wash them with soap and warm water when available. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
When should you wash your hands?
- Before preparing or eating food.
- After going to the bathroom.
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has gone to the bathroom.
- Before and after caring for someone who is sick.
- After handling uncooked foods, particularly raw meat, poultry, or fish.
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- After handling an animal or animal waste.
- After handling garbage.
- Before and after treating a cut or wound.
- After handling items contaminated by flood water or sewage.
One of the first steps in planning for a pandemic or other public health emergency is making sure you and your family, including pets, have a two-week supply of food, water and medication.
If your diabetic medication is low, it may be time for a refill. It will be very difficult to get to a store, or the stores may be out of supplies during an outbreak, so it will be important for you to have extra supplies on hand before this happens.
Also, plan ways to minimize your contact with other people as you go about your business. The small decisions you make every day will determine how severely you and your loved ones will be impacted.
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