The Basic Facts of Diabetes
Diabetes, a disease characterized by chronic high levels of glucose in the blood, is not the major problem it once was. Prior to the end of the 19th century, it might well have been a death sentence for many. Excess glucose can have a number of ill effects, including poor cut healing or kidney damage, even coma. With the advancement of monitoring and insulin delivery methods, it’s often now little more than another daily task to perform.
Though the underlying causes are not fully understood, diabetes results from either too little insulin being produced or ineffective use of it by the body. In Type 1 diabetes, for example, the islet cells of the pancreas fail to produce an amount of insulin adequate to allow blood glucose to enter cells where it’s used for energy. In Type 2, the cells may resist insulin’s action, once again leaving too much glucose in the blood.
Puzzling as the causes of diabetes are, it is generally agreed that environmental or lifestyle factors combine with genetics to cause diabetes. Occasionally, one factor is obviously dominant. Approximately three out a hundred pregnant women develop diabetes during their pregnancy (gestational diabetes). Gestational diabetes generally occurs in the third trimester delivery brings an end to the condition. By comparison, Type 1 is genetic and it affects mainly the young.
In all cases, the symptoms are usually roughly the same: excessively frequent urination, unquenchable thirst, sometimes accompanied by dizziness or stomach pains. Naturally, these common symptoms can have a number of causes. Anyone suspecting he or she has diabetes should be tested by a physician.
The doctor will order a simple blood test to measure the blood glucose level. People with diabetes have a blood glucose level of 126 mg/dL or higher. The normal range is close to 99 mg/dL. Often a second test will be run to confirm the results.
If a diagnosis of diabetes is confirmed, you will need daily blood glucose monitoring. Today’s technology makes this simple and fairly painless. You place a small pin prick sample of blood on a strip which is then pushed into a small monitoring device; in seconds, the device reads your glucose level. Devices have also been devised which require no blood; they measure the glucose level through your skin with an infrared beam.
Naturally, no one asks to cope with diabetes, but controlling the condition is simpler then it ever has been. If untreated, diabetes can still lead to serious, even fatal complications. Today, most diabetics can avoid these problems with simple disease-management techniques and enjoy a long, full life, the same as people without diabetes.
Though no one wants to have to deal with diabetes, managing the disease is now easier than ever. The possible long term complications of untreated diabetes remain what they always were. By keeping them at bay with simple techniques, most diabetics can enjoy an active fulfilling life just as anyone else.
