Diabetics know what they will hear whenever they see their doctor: another exhortation to eat right and exercise, because that's how to keep blood sugar low and under control. It's proven advice, but not enough to prevent a long list of diabetic complications from sending you to the emergency room, say diabetes experts.
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Diabetes-related complications, in fact, are among the most common reasons for hospitalization, according to a recent study in the Journal of Women's Health. Researchers found that in 2006, for example, diabetics hospitalized because of congestive heart failure accounted for more than 1 in every 16 discharges; diabetics with pneumonia made up another 1 in 26. Moreover, the overall rate of hospital admissions for diabetics is rising—up more than 65 percent between 1993 and 2006. And it will climb even faster if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent estimate that as many as 1 in 3 Americans, up from 1 in 10 now, will have type 1 or type 2 diabetes by 2050 holds up.
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For those who already have the disease, though, there is hope. Some of these tips may help keep you healthy—and out of the hospital:
Do a daily foot check. "Keeping good watch over your feet is an important aspect of good diabetes care," says Joyce Lee, a coauthor of the Women's Health study and assistant professor in the department of pediatrics and communicable diseases at the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. A high blood glucose level can cause nerve damage in the feet, and you might not feel a cut, scrape, or blister that could be the start of a deep skin infection. Data from the study indicates that young men are especially prone to such ulcerations. Applying lotion regularly and drinking lots of water can keep skin on the feet—and the rest of the body—from becoming dry and cracked, advises the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.
Coddle teeth and gums. Diabetics run an increased risk of tooth decay, inflamed gums, and gum disease because the condition increases vulnerability to bacterial infections and hampers the ability to fight them. Periodontitis, an especially severe infection that destroys gum tissue and the bone that holds teeth in place, also complicates a diabetic's life by raising blood sugar levels when hormones are released by the immune system to battle the infection, warns the American Diabetes Association. Brushing after every meal, or at least twice a day, and flossing once a day is crucial, according to the NDIC.
Go easy on salt. Sodium and high blood pressure go hand in hand, and high blood pressure multiplies a diabetic's already elevated risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases, says Om Ganda, director of the lipid clinic at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. The landmark DASH study by researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, published in 2001 in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that cutting down on salt dramatically reduced blood pressure even in those on a healthy diet rich in veggies, fruit, and low-fat dairy. The American Heart Association says that 1,500 milligrams of salt—about two-thirds of a teaspoon—should be the daily limit; the average American consumes two to three times as much. Cutting back on salt isn't just a matter of reaching for the shaker less often, unfortunately. Prepared foods tend to be salt-heavy: One large fast-food taco or egg-and-sausage biscuit has close to the AHA's recommended limit. Even unlikely suspects such as a half cup of low-fat cottage cheese or a smallish cinnamon-raisin bagel will kick in almost a third of the recommended total. For diabetics, zeroing in on the number next to sodium on nutritional labels is a survival skill.
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