1. Don't keep your
diabetes a secret. Even
professional athletes
run into trouble once in
a while. If it happens
to you, whether you
twist an ankle or have
sudden hypoglycemia, the
people around you need
to know that you have
diabetes and take
insulin. Talk to your
coach and your friends.
Wear a medical ID
bracelet or necklace all
the time, especially
when you're exercising.
Look in diabetes supply
catalogs or online for
medical IDs. You can
find cool sports band
IDs that won't get in
the way while you're
active.2. Know when to
check your blood
glucose. You don't
always need to stop and
check your blood glucose
while you're exercising.
Good times to check:
when you exercise for a
long time, when you're
working harder than
usual, when exercising
seems harder or more
tiring than usual, or
when you have any sign
of hypoglycemia.
3. Keep snacks
handy. Whether you need
a snack depends on a lot
of things. If you
exercise for a long time
(an hour or more),
you'll probably need at
least one snack. You may
also need a snack if
you're exercising harder
than usual (even if you
don't exercise a long
time). And of course,
you need to eat anytime
you experience
hypoglycemia, but you
already knew that.
4. Watch for
hypoglycemia, and treat
it right away. When the
game gets exciting, it's
easy to think,
"just 5 more
minutes!" That's
when you can get into
trouble. As soon as you
feel shaky, weak, dizzy,
irritable, or any of
your usual symptoms of
low blood glucose, eat
some glucose tablets
right away! Besides,
you'll be no good to the
team if you're too shaky
to catch or throw the
ball.
5. Drink lots of
water. Exercise uses up
a lot of the water in
your body. If you don't
replace the water, you
can become dehydrated.
To prevent this, drink
water before, during,
and after exercise.
