Blood sugar selfies raising diabetes awareness

A new blood sugar ‘selfie’ campaign aimed at raising awareness of diabetes and money for diabetes research has been launched by Diabetes.co.uk, Europe’s largest diabetes community website.
The online initiative has already seen hundreds of people with diabetes taking pictures of themselves displaying their blood glucose reading on either their blood glucose meter or insulin pump and uploading the selfies onto the Diabetes.co.uk Facebook page, Europe’s largest diabetes Facebook group.
Followers who upload their selfie are offered the chance to donate money to diabetes charity groups, including JDRF, the world’s leading charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research.
Debbie Canno, whose daughter Kayleigh has diabetes, wrote: “Can I just say Well Done to all the #bloodsugarselfies. My daughter just said to me ‘Looking at everyone showing their readings gives me so much confidence’. So thank you everyone who has given kayleigh some inspiration!!!”
The #bloodsugarselfies initiative follows the huge success of the recent No Make-Up Selfie for Cancer Awareness campaign, which managed to raise £2 million for Cancer Research UK in the space of just a few days.
By taking the same approach, Diabetes.co.uk is hoping to raise awareness of the everyday struggles of living with diabetes, whilst generating funds for vital research into the treatment and prevention of the condition.
The campaign also offers patients with diabetes the chance to share stories and tips on daily management of diabetes, which for people with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes who are on insulin involves testing blood sugar levels several times a day along with multiple insulin injections.
To post your #bloodsugarselfie or read inspirational stories visit www.facebook.com/Diabetes.co.uk. Donations to JDRF can be made online at https://bit.ly/JDRFjustgiving or by texting CAFE01 to 70070.
The majority of people who test their blood sugar levels have type 1 diabetes or insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes. Research shows that structured blood glucose testing can also benefit individuals with type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin, helping them to gain control of their condition and reduce their risk of diabetes-related complications.