Whittier Street Health Care Center Recognizes November as National Diabetes Month

November is National Diabetes Month, an annual observation that bring attention to the disease.

It's a heartbreaking statement but the Boston Public Health Commission in its “Health of Boston: Diabetes Among City of Boston Residents 2015-2021” acknowledges racism’s role, pointing to inequities in employment, education, housing status, and access to health care as significant factors.

And according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, diabetes prevalence in this state has been steadily increasing, with Black non-Hispanic residents and Hispanic residents having higher rates of the disease compared to White non-Hispanic residents.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type among adults and typically develops in people over age 45, but more children, teens, and young adults are developing it primarily due to an upsurge in obesity. Diabetes is a progressive disease that occurs when blood glucose is too high; in Type 2 the body either doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t use it well, resulting in disruption to organ function. The heart, brain, eyes, skin, blood vessels, and nervous system can be damaged, and the disease has also been linked to lung cancer.

Common symptoms of Type 2 diabetes include:

·???????? Frequent need to urinate

·???????? Excessive thirst

·???????? Feeling very hungry

·???????? Fatigue

·???????? Blurry vision

·???????? Slow healing sores

·???????? Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet

Whittier Street Health center provides comprehensive preventative care and disease management to assess health risks associated with diabetes and delivers individualized treatment. We work with you to help set goals to manage your diabetes as early as possible, prepare for health care visits, and help and encourage you to create healthy eating and activity habits. National Diabetes Month is critical to helping people understand how they can live longer, healthier lives by managing their diabetes, and we are proud to provide those resources.

#DiabetesAwareness

#KnowYourNumbers

#PreventDiabetes

#DiabetesManagement

#Type1Diabetes

#Type2Diabetes

#DiabetesSupport