What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a defect in the body’s ability to convert glucose to energy. It is caused due to insufficient production of glucose by the pancreas. In diabetes patients, the production of glucose is impaired.
What are the symptoms of Diabetes?
Patients with Type-1 diabetes usually develop symptoms over a short period of time, and the condition is often diagnosed in an emergency setting.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes:
- Increased thirst
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Increased urination
- Weight loss in spite of increased appetite
- Vomiting
However, because Type-2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar experience no symptoms at all.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes:
- Increased thirst
- Impotence in men
- Increased appetite
- Increased urination
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
- Slow-healing infections
How to diagnose diabetes?
The diagnosis of diabetes is made by a simple blood test measuring blood glucose level. Usually blood glucose level tests are repeated on a subsequent day to confirm the diagnosis. Your health care team may also request that you have a glucose tolerance test. If two hours after taking the glucose drink your glucose level is 200 or above, you will be diagnosed as having diabetes.
How can I control diabetes?
- Gather all the information about diabetes, its symptoms and causes
- Check your blood glucose level regularly
- If find any symptom of diabetes, visit your health care team for diagnosis of diabetes
- Ask your health care team about how to check blood glucose level at home
- Stop smoking
- Exercise daily
- Follow a healthy meal plan
- Check your vision at regular intervals, If found blurred visit your health care team
- Check your feet regularly for checking the occurrence of diabetes
- If you are diabetic, monitor you diabetes regularly
- Follow instructions of health care team strictly
- Avoid sweet ingredients, use sugar free food
Can diabetes be cured?
As yet, there is no treatment for either type of diabetes, although there are many ways of keeping diabetes in control. Studies have shown that good control of blood glucose (blood sugar) is the key to avoid diabetic complications later.
What are the treatment options to cure diabetes?
Diabetes is incurable. The only option is to prevent ourselves from diabetes or to keep diabetes under control.
Is diabetes a hereditary disease?
You are at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes if you have a parent, brother or sister with diabetes.
Complications of Diabetes
If you have diabetes, you are much more likely to have a risk of stroke, heart disease, or a heart attack. In fact, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes die from stroke or heart disease. There are three conditions that make people with diabetes vulnerable to foot problems. These are vascular disease and foot deformities. About 30 percent of patients with Type 1 diabetes and 10 to 40 percent of those with Type 2 diabetes eventually will suffer from kidney failure. Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body.
