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Diabetes Information and Care
Getting important diabetes information and care can sometimes be a struggle for those who are first diagnosed with the disease. Whether you are a parent caring for your diabetic child or an adult who has been diagnosed it is important to remember that you are not alone in dealing with this. Lets now have a look at what diabetes is.
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body is unable to properly control the amount of sugar that is in the blood. The body cannot control the sugar in the blood due to the lack of the hormone insulin. Diabetes has long reaching and wide ranging health affects for those that suffer from it. Diabetes significantly raises the risk of heart disease and stroke, blindness and kidney failure. Sadly to say, uncontrolled diabetes can ultimately lead to death.
It is estimated that over 18 million Americans suffer from diabetes, and of these 18 million it is estimated that nearly one third are unaware they suffer from it. Although they may have many of the warning signs or symptoms, they either choose to ignore them or just don't think that anything is really wrong.
Diabetes is easily diagnosed using a fasting blood glucose test. This if the most accurate test available. A fasting blood glucose result of 126 or higher indicates diabetes. Generally a fasting glucose test is part of an annual physical for adults.
Type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, is diagnosed in children and young adults.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and is usually found in adults over the age of 40. Type 2 diabetes is most likely due to poor diet and overweight as 80% of those with Type 2 diabetes are overweight.
There is still debate about the genetics of diabetes. If both your parents have diabetes of course your risk is higher than if one parent has it. There are also environmental triggers to diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is more closely linked to genetic factors and factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise.
Some of the symptoms of diabetes are unexplained weight loss, lethargy, excessive thirst or excessive hunger, frequent urination, dry skin, slow healing sores, sudden vision changes.
If you find you have diabetes you will need to work very closely with your health care provider in order to keep your sugar levels within acceptable ranges. They can provide a tremendous amount of diabetes information to you so you will know exactly what to do such as testing your own blood sugar level at least once a day and keeping a diary of the results. You will need to re-vamp your diet and pay close attention to portion size and meal frequency. A diabetic diet doesn't necessarily mean you cannot have foods that contain carbohydrates, it means you can't have them in an unlimited fashion.
Exercise done on a regular basis has been found to help control blood sugar levels. It is suggested that those with diabetes should exercise at least 30 to 60 minutes a day. You may want to take extra care after exercise to make certain that your blood sugar level is not low, so doing a quick glucose test will let you know if you need to compensate for that, usually a piece of fruit or fruit juice is all that you may need depending on how much exercise you have done.
Living with diabetes can seem overwhelming at first, and it will take commitment on your part. If your child has diabetes, you the parent now bears the responsibility to effectively manage their diabetes until they are old enough to properly manage it themselves. There are millions of Americans that live full and active lives with diabetes, it doesn't have to be a disease that controls you but it is a disease that you must control.
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Related Links:
• Blood Sugar Level and Diabetes
• Can Diabetes Be Cured
• Diabetes and Insulin
• Living With Diabetes
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