What is Diabetes? But More Importantly, How can It Affect You?

What is diabetes and how can it affect you? Here is some information about symptoms, different types of diabetes, risk factors, treatments, and more. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

It is a disease that gives you higher blood glucose, or sugar, levels than normal. Sugar builds up in you blood because your body doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as good as it should. Serious health complications due to diabetes include heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.

Symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, sudden vision changes, tingling or numbness in hands and feet, feeling very tired a lot of the time, very dry skin, slow healing sores, more infections than normal. Someone with diabetes might have some or none of the symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pains might accompany these symptoms.

There is different types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes accounts of 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases. Type 1 used to be called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% to 95% on all diagnosed cases. Type 2 used to be called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type that only pregnant women get. It can cause problems with the mothers and babies if it is not treated. Only 2% to5% of all pregnancies develop this type of diabetes and it usually disappears once the pregnancy is over. Other specific types of diabetes result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses. These specific types account for 1% to 2% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not well defined, but autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved in developing type 1 diabetes.

Risk Factors for type 2 diabetes are older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and ethnicity.

Gestation diabetes happens more in African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and people with a family history of diabetes. Obesity has been associated with higher risk. Also, women that have had this type of diabetes have an increased risk for later developing type 2 diabetes.

Treatment options for type 1 diabetes are eating healthy, being physically active, and insulin injections.

Treatment options for type 2 diabetes are eating healthy, being physically active, and blood glucose testing. Also, many people with this type require oral medication, insulin, or both.

People with diabetes are responsible for making sure that their blood glucose levels are not getting to low or to high. They should also see a health care provider to monitor their diabetes control and help them learn to manage the diabetes.

Home Self-Care

Diet

Some things can be done at home that will help with diabetes are: Eat consistent, well-balanced diet that is high in fiber, low is saturated fat, and low in concentrated sweets. A diet that is roughly the same number of calories at about the same time of day will help a health care provider to prescribe the correct dose of medication or insulin.

Exercise

Walking 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week has a proven beneficial effect.Any type of exercise is beneficial. It is better to get some exercise instead of no exercise.

Alcohol

Try to moderate or eliminate consumption of alcohol. Never drink more than 2 or 3 alcoholic drinks in an evening. Excessive alcohol use is a known factor for type 2 diabetes. Drinking can cause low or high blood sugar levels, nerve pain, and increase in triglycerides (type of fat in our blood).

Smoking

By smoking the risk of complications is increased significantly. Smoking damages blood vessels and contributes to heart disease, stroke, and poor circulation in the limbs.

Cures

The US Department of Health and Human Services is actively pursuing options to the health burden of diabetes. Three choices are prevent diabetes, cure diabetes, and improve the quality of care for people living with diabetes to prevent devastating complications. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are taking part in prevention activities.

There is several approaches to try and cure diabetes. They are pancreas transplantation, islet cell transplantation, artificial pancreas development, and genetic manipulation.

That is just some information about symptoms, different types of diabetes, risk factors, and treatments. There is much more information that you can find by searching online or talking to your local health care provider.