How to Support and Care for Someone with Diabetes
If your loved one has diabetes, you surely want to do all you can to support them. At the same time, you don’t want to be overbearing. Being too assertive can put a strain on your relationship with the person. The key is to learn how to care for someone with diabetes in a way that’s both helpful and respectful. This article gives diabetes caregivers tips for providing emotional support and physical assistance.
Tips for Providing Diabetics with Emotional Support
When considering how to help someone with diabetes, in many cases, the most important support is emotional support. Here are some things you can do:
- Learn about diabetes. Read the materials provided by their doctor. Do your own online research. Attend diabetes education classes with them. The more you know about the disease, the more effective you can be as their ally in managing it.
- Practice patience. Especially for people newly diagnosed with diabetes, it takes a while to get comfortable with the diabetes medications, blood glucose testing, etc.
- Join them in lifestyle changes. If the person will be modifying their eating and exercise habits, it helps to have someone making those changes with them.
- Verbalize your support. You know you’d do anything to help your loved one, but do they? Remind them periodically that they can lean on you, as needed.
- Be good to yourself, too. You aren’t doing the person any favors if you get so caught up in assisting them that you fail to take care of yourself.
Follow these recommendations and very quickly you’ll know exactly how to support someone with diabetes.
Tips for Providing Diabetics with Caregiver Support
Learning how to care for someone with diabetes from a physical perspective is important as well. For example, you can:
- Remind them to check their blood sugar. Some people are very regimented about checking their blood sugar levels. Others aren’t. If your loved one is in the second category, provide gentle reminders, as needed.
- Keep an eye on their feet. People with diabetes are prone to infections in their feet. Helping them catch a problem early makes it easier to treat.
- Help ensure there’s healthy food in the house. Make a list of foods that are good for diabetics and make sure you keep plenty of them on hand.
- Schedule meals at the same time each day. This can help a person with diabetes establish and maintain a good eating routine.
Start Providing More Support
The best way to ensure that the emotional and physical needs of a person with diabetes are met is to work as their partner. Ask what they need, and then provide assistance when, where and to the degree requested.
Learn more about diabetes and what this condition entails by visiting the main Baptist Health site.
