T1D in Winter

Winter is full of fun activities like skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, etc., but Type One Diabetes doesn’t have to stop you from doing the winter activities that you love. You just need to be aware of your blood sugars and check often, even if it is harder to get blood out of your fingers in the colder weather. Since more sicknesses are going around in the winter, you need to be extra cautious to avoid them. When you take your T1D supplies outside with you, you need to be aware that some of the items are temperature-affected. This means that medical supplies like your insulin and possibly glucose meter, etc., need to be stored somewhere warm.

In winter Type One Diabetics tend to have higher blood sugars. This is for many reasons, mostly from lack of exercise and excessive carbs. In winter some people rarely exercise resulting in high blood sugars, but others that spend time outside skiing, snowboarding, sledding, etc. sometimes get low blood sugars because of all of the clothing that they are wearing. The best way to avoid these highs and lows is to check your blood sugars and correct often.

Many people that use finger sticks to check their blood sugars tend to have a harder time managing their blood sugars. This is because when you have colder hands it is harder to draw blood from your fingers. Before you check try rubbing your hands together, or wear mittens if you are going to be outside for an extended amount of time. If you can avoid slacking off on checking your blood sugars, your glucose levels will stay in range more often.

Many sicknesses like the flu are going around in the winter, so it is good to try and avoid them. When people with Type One Diabetes get sick it tends to affect them more, and sometimes has an effect on their blood sugars. So, it is best to stay away from those sicknesses, and to get flu shots to decrease the risk of getting sick.

Like I mentioned before, exercise can have an effect on your blood sugars. Many people like to go sledding, snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, and even just have a snowball fight in the winter. During these activities it is important to keep your T1D supplies on hand. When you do activities like skiing, it is helpful to bring a backpack to store all of the supplies that you will need.

One thing to keep in mind is that many diabetes supplies shouldn’t get too cold. If you have one, use an insulated backpack to keep the cold out, or wrap up the insulin and other temperature-affected medical supplies.

I hope that these tips and tricks help you this winter with Type One Diabetes. Following some of these suggestions could make managing your diabetes in the winter a whole lot easier.