Our immune system is our first line of defence against illness and injury. But diabetes can weaken your immune system, leaving your body less able to fight infection and taking longer to heal.
What is your immune system?
Put simply, the immune system is composed of white blood cells, organs and tissues that work together to detect and destroy germs and viruses. But when it’s compromised, you get sick more often, and infections take longer to heal.
How does diabetes impact the immune system?
Your immune system is always on the lookout for potential threats to your health. But with a diabetes immune system, high blood sugar forces your body to work overtime, especially the white blood cells that make up your natural defences, seeking out and killing infection. High blood sugar in the diabetes immune system may also trigger inflammation, which can affect your internal organs.
What’s more, any signs of illness or stress can raise your blood glucose to dangerously high levels. Your body can’t produce enough insulin to cope, making the infection or illness feel so much worse.
The result? Your diabetes immune system can weaken and struggle to fight off infections. You may find cuts and wounds heal more slowly, and you may suffer frequent illnesses like the flu, urinary tract infections, and skin infections.
High blood sugar and slow healing diabetes
Slow healing diabetes is impacted by blood sugar levels in three key ways: by impairing circulation, causing nerve damage and weakening your immune response.
High blood sugar narrows the blood vessels, meaning less oxygen reaches the extremities. In addition, you may develop peripheral artery disease, which makes it even more difficult for wounds and infections to heal. Regular exercise and stopping smoking are ways you can improve circulation.
Diabetes can also cause nerve damage, or neuropathy. You may not notice wounds or painful irritations, which can go untreated, allowing infection to set in.
Once your white blood cells become less effective at fighting infection, your healing slows, and your body has a harder time producing new blood vessels or repairing damaged tissue. That’s why it’s crucial that you manage your diabetes effectively if you start to feel like you’re coming down with an infection.
How to manage your diabetes and infections
When you’re dealing with diabetes and infections, first contact your specialist care team. They’ll tell you if you need to keep taking your medications as usual, or whether you need additional insulin. In addition, you’ll likely need to check your blood sugars more often, including through the night, and to watch for signs of hyperglaecemia.
Having symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea can lead to dehydration, which can push your blood sugar levels dangerously high. Staying hydrated is important when you’re ill, so drink plenty of fluids and eat small meals more often to help you keep food down. Try sipping fruit juice or sucking on glucose tablets to keep your energy up.
If you live with type 1 diabetes, check your ketones, especially if your blood sugar is above your target range. If you find evidence of them, contact your care team immediately.
Protect yourself with vaccinations
Vaccinations are key for people with diabetes, as they help to support your immune system and prevent serious illness.
Your vaccine schedule should include flu, COVID-19, and the pneumococcal vaccine, which prevents pneumonia. Your doctor will tell you if you’re up to date.
Staying healthy with diabetes
1 in 5 adults in the UK currently lives with diabetes or prediabetes, but there are plenty of ways you can boost your immune system and stay healthy with diabetes type 1 and 2:
- Stick to your blood sugar targets: Keeping your blood sugar within your target range will help you prevent illness or recover more quickly.
- Get active. Taking regular exercise can help you boost your immune system and manage your blood sugar.
- Eat a healthy diet. Fruit and vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals that support your immune system. For the greatest variety, eat fruit and veg of different colours and always talk to your doctor before taking supplements.
- Manage your stress levels. Stress can raise your blood sugar levels and make your body work even harder to fight off infection. Start recognising the signs of stress and try relaxation techniques like meditation and mindfulness. Even 5 minutes can make a big difference.
- Sleep well. Good sleep is the key to everyone’s good health, and getting fewer than 7 hours a night can make your diabetes management more challenging. These tips to improve sleep hygiene will help your immune system cope better with infections.
- Wash your hands. Remember your handwashing routine during the pandemic? Frequent handwashing is a quick and easy way to deal with germs and stay healthy.
Slow healing diabetes may increase your chances of getting sick and taking longer to recover, but boosting your immune system will help your body fight back and aid faster recovery.
FAQs
How does diabetes affect my immune system?
Your immune system depends on white blood cells that track and attack viruses and bacteria. High blood sugar impairs your immune system and creates ideal conditions for fungi and bacteria to grow. What’s more, high blood sugar causes inflammation, which causes your immune system to work overtime and stops it from creating new white blood cells.
I have type 2 diabetes. What can I do if I have diabetes and infections?
There are plenty of things you can do to boost your immune system so it can help you to fight infection and get better faster. It’s important to keep your blood sugar in your target range, take regular exercise and eat a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables. Yoga and mindfulness can help you manage stress, while good sleep hygiene is important for everyone. Ask your doctor about your vaccine schedule.
