An Introduction to Diabetes - How to Understand It

What you need to know...an introduction to diabetes.

High levels of glucose in the blood are known as diabetes. It is not nearly as much of a problem today as it used to be.

It was more or less a harbinger of death for many before the end of the 19th century.

An overabundance of glucose could cause many problems, including cuts that would not heal, damage to the kidneys, and could end up with a person slipping into a coma.

With technological advances and the different methods of supplying insulin to the blood, it is no longer the threat that it once was.

Although the principal causes of diabetes are still not clearly evident, we know diabetes is the state of the body not producing enough insulin or not using it correctly.

Introdution to Diabetes

If you have Type 1 diabetes, common symptoms will be fatigue because the pancreas does not make enough insulin to supply the cells that change it to energy.

If Type 2 is your type, the cells are once again to blame because they do leave more glucose than is necessary in the blood.

Although the reasons are not completely clear, the general consensus is that different types of diabetes are caused by genetics and either your surroundings or your lifestyle.

Sometimes one cause may be the dominant factor.

One example is gestational diabetes.
It is an affliction of about 3% of women who are expecting, normally showing up around the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy. However, it does retreat after giving birth.

Another form is Type 1 which is mainly experienced by younger people and is a result of genetics.

In most of the cases, diabetes common symptoms include basically the same things; constantly having to urinate, thirst cannot be satisfied, and there may be dizziness or pain in the stomach.

Because they are common symptoms, they can also have other meanings.

If you think you may have diabetes, the first thing to do would be to consult your doctor to set up some tests.

The tests require a blood sample and do not take long or hurt much. Measurement of the blood glucose are taken, with 99 mg being the norm, while diabetics will measure at 126 mg or more.

There may be the need for more than one test to make sure of whether or not you are diabetic.

If you are diagnosed as having diabetes, monitoring of your blood glucose is a necessity.

Thankfully the methods are many and does not require a lot of effort.

No larger than a cell phone, these blood glucose testers are widely found. A strip in the machine gets a small amount of your blood and within a few seconds the number is displayed telling you what your level is.

There are even some new monitors that use an infrared beam aimed at your arm and the level is read.

No matter the type, most treatments are just as easy for one as the other.

In some instances, the only treatment required is to maintain a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise, thus keeping the glucose levels at the normal range.

Most of the time, insulin has to be delivered to the body. However that is not the task it used to be for our ancestors.

The right dose can be administered without any pain by using pens that are filled with insulin.

There are newer versions of inhalers for use with the mouth that have been developed and are quite efficient.

No one wants to be diabetic however, the day to day care is much easier today.

Untreated diabetes is the same risk that it has always been for long term problems. Using simple methods, there is no reason diabetics cannot do anything anyone else does.

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