Diabetes Center
Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires frequent and continuous cooperation between patients and healthcare professionals.
Diabetes Center
Another issue that has become as important as diabetes itself in recent years is ‘diabetes education’
Importance of Education in Diabetes
Famous diabetologist Joslin said that “diabetes education is not part of the treatment, it is the treatment itself”. Education; It should be taken not only by diabetics, but also by relatives of diabetic individuals and people at risk for diabetes. In order for diabetes treatment to be successful, all treatment steps must be followed.
Treatment steps in diabetes:
- Education,
- medical nutrition therapy,
- Exercise,
- Drugs.
As seen above, education is at the very beginning of the treatment step.
Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes are less willing to make a series of changes in their lives than those with Type 1 Diabetes. This is due to the individual and his family’s underestimation of the disease, and the slow and insidious course of the disease. Applying to a health institution occurs after many complications of the disease (retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, heart and vascular problems) occur, and in this case, the treatment to be applied to the individual becomes difficult. According to studies, complications can be reduced by 60% by controlling diabetes.
The basis of diabetes treatment is the education of the individual and his family. He should accept this situation in his life with diabetes not as a disease, but as a turning point for a healthier life and then get support to fulfill other criteria.
It is estimated that 2.6 million diabetics in Turkey, and this number is increasing. It is impossible to learn to live with diabetes without knowing what it means. Being able to do all this is at the will of the person.
Individuals at risk for Type 2 Diabetes
- Having diabetes in your first degree relative,
- being over 40 years old,
- being overweight,
- Living sedentary (especially individuals working at a desk job)
- Inadequate and unbalanced nutrition
- People with cardiovascular diseases,
- Women who gave birth to a baby larger than normal (weighing over 4 kilos) or had gestational diabetes,
- Women with ovarian cysts
Patients with cholesterol disorders and individuals with hidden diabetes should be monitored for diabetes.
Education is inevitable for monitoring and controlling diabetes. In Turkey, all SSK public and private hospitals have diabetes polyclinics and they only serve diabetics. All we have to do is take diabetes under control before it takes us under control. Let’s get educated before it’s too late.
