Diabetes Viewpoints

5 Simple Ways to Raise Diabetes Awareness This Month
World Diabetes Day Begins With You

By Manny Hernandez

November is always an exciting time for me. The year is about to end, Thanksgiving is around the corner and the weather cools down (which can be a blessing if you live in warmer latitudes). But November is the time of the year when all eyes are on diabetes… or they should be!

November 14 was marked World Diabetes Day by the United Nations in 2007. Since then, the blue sky circle logo has served as backdrop for lots of activities, inspired the lighting of thousands of buildings worldwide and helped raise diabetes awareness. Still, when you look back, it seems that we can still do much more.

So, let me suggest five simple things you can do to raise diabetes awareness this month:

1) Speak about diabetes in your children’s school or your church: writing for their newsletter also counts, but the key thing is to tell people in your community about diabetes. Tell them why it is important for them to know about diabetes and describe to them the symptoms of type 2 and type 1 diabetes.

2) Write to your local newspaper editor: it will take you less time than you may think and there are proven ways to get your letter published. Just make sure to plan ahead of time: don’t expect to make it to the local paper if Nov. 14 if you write the day before.

3) Dress up in blue: make sure to have a blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans clean to wear that morning. Walk your dog in them. Do your groceries in them. And while you are at it, make sure to tell everyone that Nov. 14 is World Diabetes day and share with them your favorite diabetes sound bite from this page.

4) Join a diabetes online community: there are so many good reasons to connect with others touched touched by diabetes online. So, if you have been postponing it, World Diabetes Day is a great time to come out of the “diabetes closet,” sign up to a diabetes community to learn from others and share the experience of your life with diabetes.

5) Participate in The Big Blue Test: at 2 pm, local time (wherever you live) hop on your favorite diabetes online community (since you will be an active diabetes citizen online by then, right?) and take the Big Blue Test. Thousands of people with diabetes will test their blood sugar, do 14 minutes of exercise, test again and share their results online. Be one of them.

You have no excuse. It’s not hard and we can make a big difference, if each of us takes the time to raise diabetes awareness.

This World Diabetes Day, we can all make diabetes history!

Disclaimer
dLife's Daily Living columnists are not all medical experts, but everyday people living with diabetes and sharing their personal experiences. While their method of diabetes management may work for them, everyone is different. Please consult with your diabetes care team to find out what will work best for you.