Diabetes Patient Education Essay

Patient Education: Diabetes
Carolina Rodriguez
Nova Southeastern University Patient Education on Diabetes Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of death in the United States (U.S.). Holt (2014) identified that “cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality especially in patients with type 2 diabetes” (p. 53). Patient education is important to nursing to assist patients establish healthy foundations that help maintain health and avoid health issues. If diabetics are not well educated about their disease, they can suffer severe health consequences. There are ways to avoid diabetic related morbidity. To avoid these complications, the patient

Blood glucose monitoring Monitoring blood glucose levels is an essential priority as a diabetic to reduce the incidence of health issues. Sugar levels are measured by inserting a slight drop amount of blood into a test stripe, in which the test stripe is already inserted in the blood glucose meter. The levels should read a few seconds after the blood is introduced. If the sugar levels read out of its normal range, the diabetic can experience undesirable symptoms. For instance, hyperglycemia occurs when the diabetic has high blood glucose levels. Some of the symptoms include; increased thirst, frequent urination, blurred vision, and fatigue. Hypoglycemia occurs when the diabetic is experiencing low blood glucose levels, which causes them to have chills, confusion, hunger, and tingling or numbness in the lips or

If the diabetic injects more or less than what is necessary, he or she may experience hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
Carbohydrate counting Carbohydrate counting helps the patient by means of measuring the amount of carbohydrates that can be consumed and how much insulin must be taken before each meal. It is essential to monitor your glucose levels two hours after each meal because most of the food has been absorbed into the blood