Diabetes in Medical terminology is called Diabetes Mellitus. It is a metabolic disease that results in increased blood sugar levels. A hormone called insulin helps in transferring this excessive sugar in the blood to cells for storage or other energy consumption functions. This Diabetes also makes the body incapable of using up the produced insulin or reduces the production of enough insulin. This excess amount of sugar that gets deposited in the blood ends up affecting and damaging eyes, kidneys, heart, and other important organs of the body.
Could You Be Diabetic And Not Know It? Three Signs You Can’t
The two types of Diabetes are:
- Type 1 Diabetes: It is an autoimmune disease. It destroys cells in the pancreas where insulin is produced. Only 10% of people with Diabetes are of this type.
- Type 2 Diabetes: This kind of diabetes happens when the body starts getting resistant to the insulin produced in the body and leads to an increase in blood sugar levels.
The early symptoms of Diabetes are higher than normal sugar level, increased thirst, and hunger, frequent urination, etc. But sometimes the symptoms don show up until it becomes long term damage that happened to an essential organ. This is commonly true with Type 2 diabetes. This type of Diabetes builds up over a long period, and people can have it without knowing it. However, there are three significant symptoms that cannot be ignored. They are:
- Unusual increase in thirst and hunger
- Weight loss instead of an increase in appetite
- Frequent sores and infections.
Some other symptoms of type 2 diabetes are:
- Blurred vision
- Mood swings
- Dry itchy skin
- Areas of darkened skin
- Tingling or numbness in feet
Type 2 diabetes also has some risk factors like
- Older than 45
- Not having a regular physical activity
- History of Gestational Diabetes
- Very less good cholesterol
- High triglyceride level
Type 1 Diabetes is mostly seen in young people and children. It is also known as Juvenile Diabetes. Some of the symptoms of this type 1 diabetes are:
- Extreme increase in thirst and hunger
- Stomach upset and vomiting
- Regular urination
- Sudden weight loss despite having a good appetite
- Blurry vision
- Regular infections
- Rapid breathing
- Belly pain
Risk factors for Type 1 diabetes are:
Only 5 to 10 percent of people are affected by type 1 Diabetes. The remaining have type 2 Diabetes. The only risk factor for this type is having a sibling or a parent having it. It is mostly genetic.
Reasons for Diabetes:
Genetic history or environmental factors can trigger Diabetes. Being overweight can increase the risk of having Diabetes. The fast-paced lives we lead, leave us with absolutely no time to exercise or for any other physical activity. This prolonged lethargy or avoiding physical exercise can also increase the risk of having Diabetes. Most people nowadays have Diabetes, which is stress-induced. An excessive amount of stress and workload can also cause Diabetes. Overall a healthy lifestyle needs to be followed to keep non-communicable diseases like Diabetes at bay.
Complications caused by Diabetes:
A high level of blood sugar for a prolonged period can cause further complications to the body, especially to the vital organs. Some of them are:
- Heart attack and other heart diseases
- Retinopathy and vision loss
- Hearing loss
- Regular fungal and bacterial infections on the skin
- Reduced stamina
Some factors like genes and age are not under your control, so nothing much can be done about those factors. The longer you spend with abnormal blood sugar levels, the worse your health results will be. Therefore, measuring blood glucose with the best blood glucose meter is a cornerstone of modern diabetes care. The best blood sugar monitor is tailored to your medical needs, monthly budget, and personal preferences. However, certain precautions can be taken to either avoid Diabetes or diagnosing it at an early stage. Some of the preventive care measures that can be taken are:
- Regular exercise or any other physical activity ( at least 150 minutes per week)
- Cutting down trans fats, saturated fats, and refined carbohydrates from the diet.
- Regular health check-up to diagnose Diabetes at an early stage
- Increase the intake of more fruits and vegetables.
- Eat smaller portions of meals
- Avoiding excessive stress and tension
- Proper sleep
All these precautionary measures are extremely important irrespective of age and gender. They should be followed by everyone to avoid Diabetes or at least to control the further increase in blood sugar levels. Regular exercise and healthy eating habits can be followed to avoid Diabetes. Apart from these measures, somebody who is already diagnosed with Diabetes should be taking their medicine at the prescribed time to avoid further complications. A peaceful and healthy professional life is also very essential to have a mentally and physically balanced life.