Get the Facts on Diabetes
Diabetes is a tricky, often misunderstood disease that can affect people of all ages. With its complications, including kidney disease, heart attack, stroke and blindness, it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. About 16 million Americans have diabetes--one in three of whom don’t even know it.
There is no cure for diabetes, but there are many online resources to help diabetics live with the disease. (In fact, recent studies show that about half of the people searching for health information online are looking for disease-specific information.) The best-known nonprofit diabetes group, the American Diabetes Assn., has a consumer-friendly Web site (https://www.diabetes.org) that provides helpful statistics, publications, equipment, research and nutrition information about the illness. It also has practical guidance about the emotional ups and downs of managing diabetes on a daily basis. I also found links to a few other sites worth visiting, including one with Halloween tips for diabetic children.
You may want to begin with “General Information” or “Facts and Figures.” The content here is organized in two columns: “What Is Diabetes and Who Gets it?” and “Information for the Newly Diagnosed.” You can learn all about Type I and II Diabetes (Type II is the most common, occurring in 15 million Americans). And you’ll find out the facts behind hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, as well as how clinical tests show you have diabetes and what to do when you’re diagnosed.
The association’s site also allows you to customize your home page with information of interest to you, including state-specific information. I found a list of support groups and educational programs in Southern California, including some in Spanish.
The site also offers three interactive quizzes. You can take the “Risk Test” to determine your risk of developing the disease. The “Exercise Quiz” and the “Take Time, Take Control” test are about living with diabetes.
If you’re a senior, or caring for one with diabetes, be sure to check out New Medicare Information on Diabetes. (There’s a Spanish-language version at https://www.diabetes.org/medicare/espanol.)
Clinical Practice, located in the “Diabetes Info” section, provides information about the latest research on everything from foot ulcers to new medications. If you’re interested in public policy efforts to fund research or to get health insurers to cover diabetic supplies and drugs, then go to the advocacy section.
And if that’s not enough, the site also provides an extensive list of Internet Resources, https://www.diabetes.org/reviews.asp, with brief but comprehensive descriptions of the sites and their features. You’ll find sites sponsored by researchers, drug makers, advocacy organizations and government agencies, plus mailing lists, online communities and newsgroups.
One of the most interesting sites I found was “Kids Learn about Diabetes” at https://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/6935. The site, written for kids, was founded as part of an Eagle Scout Project by a 14-year-old whose younger siblings are diabetics. He assures kids that the information has been cleared by real doctors but is written and tested by kids--some of whom have diabetes.
Certain ethnic groups are at higher risk than the general population of getting diabetes. The American Diabetes Assn. site has an African American Program (https://www.diabetes.org/africanamerican). The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/) has sections on diabetes for African Americans (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/afam/afam.htm) and Latinos (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/hispan/hispan.htm). You will also find materials in Spanish, including fact sheets about nutrition, statistics and a glossary of terms.
This government site also includes the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/ndic.htm), a collection of online and offline resources on diabetes, all of which have been reviewed for scientific accuracy.
Looking for an alternative approach? Then check out the Clearinghouse’s alternative therapies for diabetes page, https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/summary/altmed/altmed.htm.
One last resource may come in handy for parents this time of year as Halloween approaches. For children, this much-anticipated day is all about overindulgence. So how can parents help their diabetic youngsters enjoy the festivities without feeling like they’ve been cheated? Diabetes WebSite(www.diabeteswebsite.com) offers several great tips for handling the holiday.
* Cathy K. Purcell contributed to this report.
* Marla Bolotsky is managing editor and director of online information for the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. She can be reached by e-mail at marla.bolotsky@latimes.com.
* Your Health Online runs the first and third Monday of the month in Health.
