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How to help a loved one living with diabetes Y
ou may have heard that diabetes runs in families. But diabetes doesn’t have to run a family’s life, as long as the person with the disease is surrounded by knowledgeable friends and family members ready to assist their loved one in managing the disease. Too often, diabetes is thought of as a senior’s disease. In reality, only 10.9 million of the nearly 26 million Americans whom the American Diabetes Association (ADA) says have diabetes are older than 65; 14.9 million develop type 1 or type 2 diabetes before their 60th birthdays. The ADA also estimates that 79 million more people are “pre-diabetic,” so being informed about what you can do to help, in an emergency or as someone dear to you struggles to manage the chronic disease, is increasingly important. 18
YOUR HEALTH April 2013
Diabetes comes in two forms: type 2, which is slow onset, and type 1, which usually develops in childhood or adolescence and is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 5 and 18. “Type 1 and type 2 diabetes pose some basic similarities in terms of pathophysiology and treatment; however, they are basically viewed as different diseases by clinicians,” says John Burns, III, program director for South University’s physician assistant program. “But with either diagnosis, support from family and friends is critical in helping the patient adjust to the prescribed treatment, and knowledgeable family members and friends could mean the difference between life and death.”