section_path: Management
section_name: Management
paragraph_text: Management
  
  Diabetes management concentrates on keeping blood sugar levels close to normal, without causing low blood sugar. This can usually be accomplished with dietary changes, exercise, weight loss, and use of appropriate medications (insulin, oral medications).
  
  Learning about the disease and actively participating in the treatment is important, since complications are far less common and less severe in people who have well-managed blood sugar levels. The goal of treatment is an A1C level below 7%. Attention is also paid to other health problems that may accelerate the negative effects of diabetes. These include smoking, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome obesity, and lack of regular exercise. Specialized footwear is widely used to reduce the risk of diabetic foot ulcers by relieving the pressure on the foot. Foot examination for patients living with diabetes should be done annually which includes sensation testing, foot biomechanics, vascular integrity and foot structure.
  
  Concerning those with severe mental illness, the efficacy of type 2 diabetes self-management interventions is still poorly explored, with insufficient scientific evidence to show whether these interventions have similar results to those observed in the general population.