Diabetes care
If you have been watching the news in the past few years, you will know that diabetes has reached a level of epidemic proportions in the United States. Millions of Baby Boomers are reaching the age where Type 2 (i.e. adult onset) diabetes becomes a concern, and that combined with American’s generally unhealthy lifestyle has led to more cases than ever of diabetes. Further, more than every children are developing type 2 diabetes. Doctors and medical professionals blame a sedentary lifestyle and a diet full of high fat, processed foods for this sad state of affairs. More and more often, young children are sitting at home in front of video games or the internet rather than going outside and enjoying the sunshine, and this inactive lifestyle has left them wide open to childhood obesity and diabetes.
Because of these factors, more and more people are now searching for the best ways to provide diabetes care to their sick family members. But first, what is diabetes exactly? Diabetes (also known as diabetes mellitus) is a medical condition resulting when the human body does not produce enough, or properly respond to the effects of, a natural substance called insulin. Insulin, an important watchword for diabetics, is a hormone produced in the pancreas. Diabetics have to worry about their insulin intake because their bodies either fail to even produce insulin or fail to respond properly to the insulin that their body’s do produce. Complications from diabetes stem from the fact that insulin problems often allow a substance known as glucose to form in the blood. An excess of glucose can cause various problems with the body’s various important systems.
Diabetes has a whole range of symptoms, from blurred vision, to lethargy, weight loss, nausea, vomiting and weight gain, abdominal pain, hyperventilation, increased thirst and frequent urination. Some forms of diabetes care are designed to treat the underlying diabetes while other forms of diabetes care are designed to treat the symptoms that frequently come along with the onset of diabetes.
Unfortunately for diabetes sufferers, diabetes has no cure. On the other hand, with proper diabetes care, the disease can be managed and symptoms of type 2 (adult onset) diabetes can even disappear. The biggest components of diabetes care of diet, exercise and weight loss. Another important factor in achieving optimum diabetes care is maintaining long term blood glucose levels within acceptable limits. Because of this, for many people suffering from diabetes, diabetes care includes measuring their blood glucose level daily with a blood glucose meter. This process involves pricking the finger or the arm with a small needle device called a lancet and then applying the resulting drop of blood to a diabetes test strip. This strip is then fed into a machine that calculates the blood’s glucose level. If a diabetes patient performs a blood glucose test in the course of their self diabetes care and finds that their blood glucose level is unusually high, they should report to their primary care physician immediately.
For proper diabetes care, diabetes patients should eat a healthy diet, exercise every day, and maintain optimum weight for their height and body type. Failure to do so can result in long term problems, up to and including kidney failure, loss of circulation, amputation of the extremities and diabetes-related death. One of the most harrowing parts of diabetes can be kidney failure. When a person’s kidneys fail due to diabetes, he or she often has to go on dialysis. In this process, patients are hooked up to a machine that performs the function that kidneys would normally perform if they were working properly. Patients need dialysis up to three times per week and this process can severely upset the normal course of their lives.
If you feel that you are suffering from diabetes, contact your primary care physician and set up an appointment immediately. With proper treatment and diabetes care, the condition can be managed and you can live a long, healthy and productive life.
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