Diabetes Education

Diabetes Education

Learn more about DIABETES

FCMC will be offering a FREE Diabetes forum betes must take insulin injections Nov. 13, 2020, at the Celebration Unlimited every day in order to stay alive. in Fort Littleton, Pa., from 7:30 a.m. to noon. • Type 2 Diabetes: The most Anyone newly diagnosed with diabetes is encouraged to come, as well as those interested in new tips and education. common form of diabetes, Type 2 develops later in life, resulting from a combination of genetic factors and lifestyle choices (e.g., a diet high in refined can use to fuel its daily activities. If the body doesn’t sugars). Type 2 diabetes impairs the body’s ability to General Diabetes make insulin, although it usually doesn’t destroy it Education It’s possible that you or perhaps family members either have diabetes or could be at risk for the disease. Did you know that there’s a lot you can do to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes? If you are completely. • Gestational Diabetes: Pregnant women can also develop a form of the disease known as gestational diabetes, which typically disappears after the delivery of the child. dealing with diabetes now, it’s a good idea to find diabetes education services close to home, near How to Spot the Symptoms of Diabetes McConnellsburg, Pa., FCMC offers expert diabetes Many diabetics experience no symptoms until education in a caring atmosphere so you and your they show up at a medical clinic with an emergenfamily can learn vital information that can improve cy, but most will notice the effects of the disease your quality of life. before long. Some of the most common symptoms

Our goal is to provide diabetes education so of diabetes include: patients can participate in the management of - Extreme thirst their care and prevent or delay complication of the - Frequent urination disease. - Weight loss Understanding Diabetes - Extreme fatigue

Diabetes is a serious, chronic medical condition - Blurry vision that occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough - Numbness or tingling in insulin to maintain blood glucose (or blood sugar) the extremities levels. A hormone produced by the pancreas, - Frequent or persistent insulin converts glucose into energy that the body infections - Increased appetite produce enough insulin, then blood sugar backs up Keeping Diabetes at Bay in the bloodstream instead of being distributed to The best way to deal with the cells. Type 2 diabetes is to prevent

Whenever people’s blood glucose levels remain it in the first place. In order to too high over a long period of time, they become do so, people with borderline at risk for a number of devastating complications, diabetes or relatively high including kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, blood sugar levels must limit blindness, neuropathy and cardiovascular disease. their sugar intake, manage their In rare cases, the disease can progress so far as to weight, increase the amount of require amputation of limbs or extremities. Forexercise they do on a regular tunately, with the right education and the proper basis, and incorporate healthy tools, it’s possible to manage the condition and foods into their diet. Even when prevent the worst effects. such corrective measures come Types of Diabetes too late to prevent the disease,

The term “diabetes” does not refer to a single disthey can help to delay the onset ease, but rather a collection of diseases that affect of diabetes. the body’s ability to produce or manage insulin. The There is no cure for diabetes, three most common forms of the diabetes are: but it is possible to manage the • Type 1 Diabetes: The most devastating form disease with the help of a diaof the disease, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune betes doctor and the resources disorder. Also called juvenile diabetes, it typically provided by a medical health takes hold in childhood or adolescence, causing the center. To begin with, diabetics immune system to attack insulin-producing cells should follow the same advice in the pancreas. People who suffer from Type 1 diaas pre-diabetics, which means improving their diet and exercise routine. Of course, those with full-blown diabetes need to work even harder to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Many must take insulin injections to compensate for the fact that their body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone on its own.

Continue Your Diabetes Education

The first step toward preventing or managing diabetes is understanding it. That’s why the team at the Fulton Medical Center in McConnellsburg, Pa., places so much emphasis on diabetes education. In addition to offering emergency care services, we teach people how to tackle the disease head-on. By doing so, we help improve patient outcomes and ensure a higher quality of life.

For more information, call the Fulton County Medical

Center at (717) 485-6165. ■