How to Become a Pro in Managing Diabetes during Covid-19?

As a health-conscious person, I always worried about keeping my dad’s diabetes score under control, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. It had become very challenging for me to keep my dad safe. You might be thinking, why I was so critical during this pandemic. I would love to answer it first before I let you know the steps I implemented to manage the diabetes of my dad during Covid-19.

Why I was so critical about Diabetes during Covid-19?

The covid-19 virus is still spreading, and we note cases every day. Since diabetes is somewhere linked to Covid-19, it had become so critical for me.

Additionally, Covid-19 has disrupted the normal lifestyle, and we are continuously sitting at home and working. We are prone to less physical activity, and it might lead to an increase in the sugar levels in the blood.

Overall, I have listed why managing diabetes was difficult for me during Covid-19 below.

• Our homely workers were on leave due to Covid-19, and there was a considerable increase in the work. Hence, we were not really focused on cooking diabetes-friendly food.
• Dad had to work extra during Covid-19. Hence, he was not able to focus on his regular exercise.
• Dad was a little stressed due to the situation. This was causing a fluctuation in the sugar levels of the blood.
• Additionally, dad was inclined towards eating outside food to reduce the anxiety and stress.

All these reasons were influencing me to get freaked out during pandemic. Now let us understand why managing diabetes is an important activity for someone like me during the pandemic.

Why is there an urgent need to manage diabetes during Covid-19?

The pandemic has not been a great time to manage diabetes. Many surveys have noted that diabetic patients are more prone to suffer from Covid-19. The major reason is that our body loses immunity due to diabetes. Thus, our body is not comfortable fighting the Covid-19 virus.

As a result, it was a major task to find ground rules that keep my dad away from contracting the Covid-19 virus and managing diabetes simultaneously.

How to manage Diabetes during Covid-19?

First of all, if you want to manage diabetes during the pandemic, you need to be proactive.

• During normal days, I used to check my dad’s blood sugar level once during the day. But I employed a habit of checking it twice a day during the pandemic.
• I tried to give my dad food that was not rich in sugar. I explained to my dad that even if there was a craving for such food, it was better to avoid consuming it.
• I got up early in the morning every day to spend some time with my dad during jogging, jumping jacks, rope jumping, etc. We used to spend at least 20 minutes every day.
• I gave him a flu shot and a pneumonia shot. (Note: I did that after taking prior approval from my family doctor)
• Luckily my dad didn’t have any other physical abnormalities. So, I had to omit the section where I had to give extra medication for other problems related to the kidney, liver, or heart.
• Even if my dad was reluctant to visit our family doctor, I took him whenever he was feeling feverish.

Challenges I faced while working on the above measures with my dad.

If anyone had looked at me during the early days of the pandemic, each one of them might have judged me as a nutritionist/doctor as I was taking care of my dad with respect to his food and activities. Though it was for my benefit, there were a lot of challenges that I came across during the early stages of the pandemic. (Note: Later on, it became a habit!)

• I am not a morning person. It was quite difficult for me to get up early in the morning to invest my time with my dad in his morning activities like jogging, exercise, yoga, etc.
• I had to ask my mom/sister to cook additional diabetes-friendly food that helped my dad maintain his blood sugar levels.
• At times, I had to consume the same food as my dad did, just to accompany him. Though it was not tasty, it was consumable.
• I had to regularly step out of my home to get regular medicines for my dad.

There were several other challenges in the list, but I remember only these many.

Though it was challenging, I loved it. You know, I kept reading several books, newspaper articles, and blogs to find the improved and best version of keeping the diabetic patients safe from Covid-19. One such blog was ‘Managing Diabetes during the Pandemic’, published on Our New Earth.

I am thankful to all those writers who helped me stay aware of the latest techniques to manage diabetes during Covid-19.

My name is Dharmil Shah. I am a freelance content writer from Mumbai (India). I love creating engaging and informative content for my readers. I am fond of reading books, playing cricket & table tennis, and watching series.