Managing Your Chronic Disease to Prevent COVID-19
What should people with chronic diseases know about COVID-19?
Anyone can get sick from COVID-19, but people who are older than 65 and people of any age who have a serious chronic disease are the most likely to become very ill from complications of the coronavirus.
Diabetes is a chronic disease. If I have diabetes, what can I do?
When people with diabetes do not manage their blood sugar levels well, they can have more trouble fighting off illnesses like COVID-19 and recovering. Because of this, people with poorly controlled diabetes are more likely to become very ill if they get COVID-19.
What you can do:
• Make sure to monitor your blood sugar regularly and take your medications as directed. Contact your provider to help you get an emergency supply of medications.
• Follow your healthcare provider’s advice about healthy eating and increasing physical activity.
• Stop smoking, as smoking can make it more likely that you may have a heart attack or stroke.
• Learn more about the diabetes prevention resources available from the Health District.
Southern Nevada Health District Diabetes Prevention Resources:
For people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, self-management of their condition can make a major difference in their health. The goals of diabetes self-management education (DSME) are to prevent short- and long-term health conditions that result from unmanaged diabetes and to achieve the best possible quality of life. When people attend DSME classes, they learn how to manage their diabetes and health.
Under normal circumstances, the Health District offers FREE diabetes self-management classes. These small group classes allow participants to interact and actively discuss their diabetes, share their experiences, and find helpful resources to eat better, get more active, and better manage their diabetes. Due to COVID-19, we are suspending classes at this time. Fill out the diabetes self-management form if you wish to be on the waiting list and contacted by our staff to attend a class when it is safe to resume.
For additional local diabetes resources, check out this link.
