What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is also known as blood sugar. It is a condition that impairs the body’s ability to process blood glucose. It is a metabolic disease that causes high level of sugar in blood. Diabetes involves number of problems especially with the hormone insulin. Under the normal conditions pancreas releases insulin which help the body store and use the sugar and fat from the food which you eat. When the pancreas produces tiny or no insulin, or when the body does not respond properly to insulin then this condition is termed as Diabetes. Glucose in the blood comes from the food you eat. In order to provide energy to the cells in body the glucose is broken down by the insulin. In the absence of insulin hormone the glucose accumulates in the blood thus resulting in the too much of glucose in the blood which can cause serious problems. Diabetes can damage nerves, kidneys and eyes. It can also become the reason of heart diseases, stroke and even need to remove a limb. Pregnant women can also get diabetes which is known as gestational diabetes.
What are Different Types of Diabetes?
Many different types of diabetes are known but few of them are more relevant than others. In the general population type 2 diabetes is most commonly found which is often develops because of the pre-diabetes. Type 1diabetes is commonly found in children and gestational diabetes, where it is the form of diabetes that can occur during pregnancy. The other known types of diabetes are as follows:
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes
- Gestational diabetes
- Diabetes LADA
- Diabetes MODY
- Double Diabetes
- Type 3 Diabetes
- Steroid-induced Diabetes
- Brittle Diabetes
- Secondary Diabetes
- Diabetes Insipidus
- Juvenile Diabetes
It is crucial to know about the right type of diabetes in order to have the correct treatment of the disease. Your doctor may run one or more tests to help determine the correct type of diabetes.
What are the Major Symptoms of Diabetes?
Diabetes shows its many symptoms which are helpful in diagnosis of this disease. The major symptoms of diabetes are as follows:
- Frequent need of urination
- Either weight gain or loss
- Blurry vision
- Wounds heal slowly
- Skin become dry and itchy
- Excessive thirst and hunger
- Numbness or pain in feet or hands
- Nausea
- Skin infections
- Fatigue
It is difficult to diagnose type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes can cause dark patches in the folds of skin i.e. neck and armpits etc.
What are the Possible Causes of Diabetes?
There can be different things that become the cause of diabetes. As we know that diabetes is a condition in which insulin is produced by the pancreas but the cells of body don’t use this insulin well to turn glucose from the food into energy. The causes of this condition can be as follows:
- Genetic and family history
- Over weight Body
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Bad communication between cells
- Too much glucose from liver
- Broken beta cells
- Physical inactivity
- Insulin resistance
- Hormonal diseases
- Medicines
- Removal or damage of pancreas
- Living a sedentary lifestyle
- Bad diet
What are the Treatments for Diabetes?
Different doctors adopt different ways for treating this disease or health problem. Some of the ways include drugs that are taken by mouth while other is available as injections.
Type 1 diabetes is mainly treated by the insulin as in this case the body is not able to produce the hormone “insulin”, so the insulin is artificially injected into the body through injection to take over the condition.
Four types of insulin are available in the market which include
- Rapid-acting insulin
- Intermediate-acting insulin
- Short-acting insulin
- Long-acting insulin
Type 2 diabetes is mainly due to the excessive amount of sugar in the blood so it is required to lower the sugar level in the blood. This goal can be achieved easily through the diet and exercise in few cases. If these solutions are not useful enough then one have to add the medicine to the treatment of this disease. These medicines or drugs act in different ways for lowering sugar in the body, for example;
- Improve sugar in blood without making it drop too low
- Reducing the amount of glucose in the blood produced by the liver
- Slow the breakdown of sugar and starchy food at cell level
- Change the way of insulin production
- Stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin
- Releasing more sugar in the urine
- Helps the insulin work better for the absorption of cells
What are the Diseases Associated with the Diabetes?
Diabetes does not come alone but it brings a number of serious health problems along with it. These are the long-term problems and may affect the eyes, kidneys, heart, feet, nerves and brain. The reason for getting these long-term problems is the presence of high sugar level in the blood. Patients that are suffering from type 1 diabetes are most likely to suffer from autoimmune disorders. The autoimmune disorder is the condition in which the body’s immune system attacks the healthy tissues of the body considering them as a foreign invader. It is observed that these autoimmune diseases are mostly found in the people who have their relatives with type 1 diabetes. The autoimmune diseases that are caused by type 1 diabetes include Thyroid disorder, Addison’s disease and Celiac disease, Nerve pain, Eye problems, severe skin conditions, Kidney diseases, Heart diseases, Depression and infections are mostly associated with the diabetes. These diseases may cause blindness, kidney failure, lower limb amputation etc.
What are the Tips for Diabetes Foot Care?
Presence of excessive amount of glucose in the blood for a long time may cause serious compaction including foot problems. These problems can develop infections or other serious complication even from the slightest of wound. There are few tips for taking care of foot while having diabetes is as follows:
- Check and inspect feet daily
- Be gentle while washing feet
- Bathe feet in lukewarm water
- Avoid moisturizing feet between toes
- Trim toenails carefully and weekly
- Never walk barefoot
- Always wear diabetes-friendly shoes and socks
- Take good care of diabetes
There are many products available which are specifically produced for people suffering from diabetes.