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Good Ways to Inform People About Diabetes

It's a fine line between maintaining your privacy and protecting your health and safety when you have diabetes. You don't want to be treated "differently," but your life could be at risk if you have a severe hypoglycemia episode and no one around you knows why this is happening or how to help you. Knowing who to tell and how to tell them can ease your mind and possibly save your life.

  1. Be Straightforward

    • Be straightforward in situations where your safety could become an issue. Pathologist Melissa Stoppler, writing for the Web site dLife.com, points out that no matter how private you may feel about having diabetes, you need to make exceptions. Exercise partners, athletic coaches and trainers, traveling companions and happy-hour buddies all need to be told, so they know what to do to help you if you have a hypoglycemic episode. Traveling companions also need to understand you need to eat at regularly scheduled times. "While one's level of openness and disclosure is an intensely personal matter, sometimes telling others about your diabetes only makes sense. This is particularly true if not telling might have adverse consequences for your health," Stoppler writes.

    Be Informative

    • Be informative instead of a complainer when talking to people who know little about diabetes. As Amy Tenderich, dLife.com blogger and owner of the Web site DiabetesMine.com, wrote, "How we deal with discussing diabetes not only shapes our own self-care, but also has an impact on society." Having the right attitude can help clear away misconceptions and, in the long run, fight discrimination toward people with diabetes. You don't have to act like you enjoy having diabetes--who would--but remember your attitude is important.

    Be Short and Sweet

    • Be short and sweet when telling a date. Mayo Clinic diabetes educators Nancy Klobassa and Peggy Moreland point out it might be easier to stick to your meal plan if your companion knows about your diabetes. If your date involves physical activity, you might need to check your glucose level more often. It might also be necessary to give yourself an insulin injection while on a date. All of these reasons make it a good idea to inform your date, though the explanation needn't be detailed.

    Stay Age-Appropriate

    • When talking to children about diabetes, keep in mind they may only be able to grasp basic concepts about the disease. Don't overwhelm them with details that will only confuse them. On the other hand, when a classmate or friend has diabetes, it's better for them to realize why the friend might not be able to eat all the same treats and do all the same activities they can enjoy.

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