DIABETES | Types, Signs, Symptoms, Lifestyle, Complications

DIABETES | Types, Signs, Symptoms, Lifestyle, Complications

What is Diabetes?

• Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar or also called glucose and released into your bloodstream and when your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin.
• Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high.

Types of Diabetes

• Type 1 diabetes once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or your body does not make insulin. In type 1 diabetes, symptoms tend to come on quickly and be more severe.
• Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that keeps your body from using insulin the way it should. People with type 2 diabetes are said to have insulin resistance.People who are middle-aged or older are most likely to get this kind of diabetes, so it used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But type 2 diabetes also affects kids and teens, mainly because of childhood obesity

Signs and Symptoms

HIGH BLOOD SUGAR (hyperglycemia)

• High blood sugar can damage your brain and might put you at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Increased thirst
• Dry mouth
• Frequent urination
• Bed-wetting in children who previously didn’t wet the bed during the night
• Extreme hunger (especially after eating)
• Unintended weight loss
• Upset stomach and vomiting
• Irritability and other mood changes
• Fatigue and weakness
• Blurry vision

Treatment for High Blood Sugar

• Drink more water helps you avoid dehydration.
• Exercise more working out can help lower your blood sugar

LOW BLOOD SUGAR (hypoglycemia)

• Rapid heartbeat
• Sweating
• Paleness of skin
• Anxiety
• Numbness in fingers, toes, and lips
• Sleepiness
• Confusion
• Headache
• Slurred speech

Treatment for Low Blood Sugar

• Eat or drink 15 to 20 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates.
• These are sugary foods without protein or fat that are easily converted to sugar in the body.
• Try glucose tablets or gel, fruit juice, regular not diet, soft drinks, honey, and sugary candy.

Advice:

• If you have Type 1 diabetes and your blood sugar is high, you need to check your urine for ketones. When you have KETONES, do NOT exercise.
• If you have Type 2 diabetes and your blood sugar is high, you must also be sure that you have no ketones in your urine and that you are well-hydrated.

Cause of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction that destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, called beta cells. Being exposed to a trigger in the environment, such as a virus, is also thought to play a part in developing type 1 diabetes. While Type 2 diabetes develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or when the pancreas is unable to produce enough insulin.

• Genes
• Extra weight
• Metabolic syndrome
• Too much glucose from your liver
• Bad communication between cells
• Broken beta cells

Risk factors related to your health and medical history include:

• Infection or illness
• Family history
• Environmental factors
• Age
• Prediabetes
• High blood pressure
• Low HDL (“good”) cholesterol
• High triglycerides
• Having a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
• Gestational diabetes while you were pregnant
• Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Depression
• Getting little or no exercise
• Smoking
• Stress
• Sleeping too little or too much

Role of Insulin and Glucose:

1. Insulin is needed to move blood sugar (glucose) into cells.

• The pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream.
• Insulin circulates, allowing sugar to enter your cells.
• Insulin lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream.
• As your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas.

2. Glucose

Also called as sugar is a main source of energy for the cells that make up muscles and other tissues.

Glucose comes from two major sources food and your liver.

Complications: Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes complications can affect major organs in your body such as:

• Heart and blood vessel disease
• Nerve damage (neuropathy)
• Kidney damage (nephropathy)
• Eye damage
• Foot damage
• Skin and mouth conditions
• Pregnancy complications

Other important complications:

1. In your Baby,

It can occur as a result of gestational diabetes, including:

• Excess growth
• Low blood sugar
• Type 2 diabetes later in life
• Death

2. In the Mother,

It can occur as a result of gestational diabetes, including:

• Preeclampsia
• Subsequent gestational diabetes

Important recommendation for Diabetic Patient:

Healthy Eating and Exercise:

Vegetables

• Non-starchy:  includes broccoli, carrots, greens, peppers, and tomatoes
• Starchy:  includes potatoes, corn, and green peas

Fruits – includes oranges, melon, berries, apples, bananas, and grapes

Grains – at least half of your grains for the day should be whole grains. Includes wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, and quinoa. Examples: bread, pasta, cereal, and tortillas

Protein: Lean meat, Chicken or turkey without the skin, Fish, Eggs, Nuts, and peanuts, Dried beans and certain peas, such as chickpeas and split peas, Meat substitutes, such as tofu

Dairy-nonfat or low fat: Milk or lactose-free milk if you have lactose intolerance, yogurt, and cheese

Oils that are liquid at room temperatures, such as canola and olive oil: Nuts and seeds, Heart-healthy fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel, Avocado

For Type 2 diabetes.

• Eating fewer calories
• Cutting back on refined carbs, especially sweets
• Adding veggies and fruits to your diet
• Getting more fiber

Regular exercise for Type 1 and Type 2 helps control the amount of sugar in the blood. It also helps burn extra calories and fat to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Impact on Family Members:

Family members can actively support and care for diabetic patients. They can provide many forms of support, in other words, instrumental support in driving patients to appointments or helping inject insulin. If you have a child with diabetes, gradually teach him or her how to manage the condition. Parents should always have a role in monitoring their child’s diabetes, as they get older, teens can take an increasing role in blood sugar monitoring and meal planning. “There is a danger that parents micromanage their children to the point that the children grow up and do not become independent in taking care of themselves.