National Diabetes Month, Week 1: Caregivers

November is National Diabetes Month, which also incorporates World Diabetes Day on November 14. It’s a month dedicated to raising awareness about diabetes and advocating for its prevention, cure, and management. Events are scheduled around the country and the world—keep any eye out for happenings in your area, or enter your ZIP code into the "Local Events & Information" box on the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) home page.

This year, the ADA’s theme for National Diabetes Month is “Many Faces of Diabetes.” For each week of November, the ADA is focusing on bringing a different “face” of diabetes to light. You can learn more about this campaign by visiting www.diabetes.org/adm.

Over the coming weeks, DiabetesSelfManagement.com will also share its wealth of information on the themes of this year’s National Diabetes Month. The theme for the first week (November 1–3) is “Caregivers,” focusing on the people who provide care and companionship for those living with diabetes. DiabetesSelfManagement.com is happy to be able to share the following resources for these important people, who support people with diabetes in many important ways:

• Diabetes basics. When someone you care for is diagnosed with diabetes, it’s natural to want to learn as much as you can about the condition. The articles in DiabetesSelfManagement.com’s “Diabetes Basics” section can serve as a primer on diabetes both for people with diabetes and their caregivers. They provide clear, easy-to-understand answers to questions such as “What Is Diabetes?” and explanations of topics such as insulin, oral medicines, and high and low blood glucose levels.
• Kids & diabetes. When a child in your care has diabetes, it can feel like there are 100 things to keep track of all at the same time. What’s more, children’s needs differ from those of adults, so guidelines for their care can vary from the standard recommendations. Luckily, the articles in DiabetesSelfManagement.com’s “Kids & Diabetes” section can help caregivers reach an in-depth understanding of topics like hypoglycemia unawareness, insulin pump therapy, and Type 2 diabetes—as they pertain to kids. And articles on other kid-specific topics, such diabetes care at school and camp, can further help caregivers inform themselves and learn where focus their energies.
• Avoiding burnout. Nurse David Spero’s recent blog entry “Put Your Mask on First” covers the important issue of balancing care for others with care for yourself. Using examples from readers and his own life, David offers guidance on this too-often-ignored topic.

Next week, we’ll discuss the “face of diabetes” in the workplace.