November - Diabetes Awareness Month

November is Diabetes Awareness month, a time to raise awareness about diabetes risk factors, how to manage it, and how to prevent or delay the onset of the disease.  It highlights the importance of equitable access to care for people with diabetes. How can we promote diabetes awareness? This can be achieved through a combination of lifestyle changes, education and public health initiatives, like encouraging individuals to adapt to healthy behaviors such as regular physical activity, balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight.

Signs and symptoms of diabetes include increased thirst, excessive urination, drowsiness, excessive fatigue, blurred vision, abdominal pain, and dehydration.  Diabetes, also called Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that results in too much sugar in the blood (hyperglycemia).

Types of Diabetes:

• Type 1: A lifelong condition where the pancreas make little or no insulin, which leads to high blood sugar levels.
• Type 2: Most common type. It means your body doesn’t use insulin the right way. Your chance of getting the disease goes up if you are overweight or obese or have a family history of the disease.
• Pre-Diabetes: A blood sugar level higher than what’s considered healthy but not high enough to be Type 2.

Talk to your care provider about questions or concerns and/or refer to resources that are available on the website.