Looking after your diabetes goes hand in hand with staying on top of your diabetic eye care. Diabetes can lead to blindness if it is not properly managed, so there are many good reasons for being conscientious about your lifestyle.
Of course, living with diabetes and maintaining proper diabetic eye care is not impossible. It takes a little additional attention, but if you are going to commit extra energy to anything, it should be your health and well being. To make things simple, here are a few quick tips to live life easily with diabetes.
Set Aside a Specific Spot For Your Glucose Meter
Regularly monitoring your blood sugar levels is a vital part of diabetic eye care. The frequency with which a person should monitor their diabetes depends on their age, overall health, and their particular type of diabetes. But no matter your individual situation, a crucial part of diabetic health care and diabetic eye care is being able to check up on your level. Constantly wondering where you put your glucose meter can be frustrating, or worse, lead you to skip a check in. Create a designated spot for your glucose meter so that you can always find it and can quickly grab it if you’re heading out in a hurry.
Reflect on What’s Important To You
Sometimes, you may not be as on top of your diabetes as you should be. Taking care of your diabetes, and by extension your diabetic eye care, involves consistently healthy lifestyle habits. Don’t beat yourself up if you sometimes slip up: you’re only human. But forgiving yourself does not equal allowing occasional slip ups to turn into a habit. Whenever you feel your diet slipping or you are not pushing yourself to be as active as possible, reflect on what’s important to you: your family, your pets, your independence, your longevity, your career and consider how those things will be affected if you are not healthy.
Keep Junk Food Out of Sight and Out of Mind
When we’re hungry and we need a quick snack, we grab what’s closest to us. You are likely the primary shopper in your house. Go to the grocery store on a full stomach and buy the essentials. For snacks, buy fresh veggies, fruit, whole grains, and nuts as well as good proteins. When you get hungry instead of snatching a soda or grabbing a slice of cake from the fridge, you will gratefully munch on some nuts or eat some grapes instead. If it’s out of sight, it will be out of mind – or at least out of reach!
See Your Eye Doctor for a Dilation Test
Everybody should get a dilation test, but for those with diabetes, dilation tests are a vital part of effective diabetic eye care. People with diabetes are at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, a condition that damages the tiny blood vessels in your retina. Seeing your eye doctor at least once a year for a dilation test is an important part of preventing and diagnosing vision-threatening diseases like diabetic retinopathy.
Our eye care professionals here at Davidorf Eye Group would be happy to discuss your diabetic care. Stop by for a thorough and comprehensive eye exam to make sure your eyes are as healthy as possible. Give us a call or stop by our West Hills or Los Angeles locations today!
