Halloween Tips for Diabetics | Tennessee Valley Urology Center

Trust us–being diabetic on Halloween doesn’t have to be a drag! Tennessee Valley Urology Center has gathered some helpful tips for you to enjoy a great holiday without the high blood sugar blues.

Plan Ahead
Talk to your family about any particular Halloween celebrations you want to enjoy and how they can be balanced with your diabetes management.

Find Activities That Don’t Involve Food
You can take the focus off candy by participating in arts and crafts projects, pumpkin carving/painting contests, watching Halloween movies, visiting haunted houses, or going on a hayride. This way you get to create great memories that don’t involve food.

Join the Teal Pumpkin Project
The Teal Pumpkin Project by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) helps raise awareness of food allergies and promotes inclusion for all trick-or-treaters. You can join the project by handing out non-food treats–like bookmarks, stickers and glow sticks for trick-or-treaters–and paint a pumpkin teal to place in front of your home. You can post a free printable sign from FARE to indicate you have non-food treats available. This is a great choice not just for food allergy families, but for diabetics and anyone else who wants to be inclusive of all kids and celebrate the holiday without too many sweets.

Use Candy to Treat Low Blood Sugar
Non-chocolate candy like starburst and skittles, can be divvied up into servings of 15 grams of carbohydrates and bagged separately. Store the bags of candy in easy to reach places for treating an episode of low blood sugar. Here’s a handy carb counting cheat sheet.

Make a Limit of Candy Per Day
Moderation matters. Set a household role for the number of candies anyone in the household may eat each day–as long as their blood glucose isn’t high. If you stick to it and apply the rule to everyone in the house, not just children, or those with diabetes, it will go easier on everyone.

We hope you enjoy a fun holiday free from many blood sugar woes! Be sure to make your appointment for your urology needs today.