DO NOT WORRY IF YOU ARE DIABETIC.. YOU ARE MORE SWEETER THAN OTHERS!
DIABETES
Diabetes known as MADHUMEHA since ancient days, is a chronic non communicable disease of concern in developing countries, especially in India. India is called as the diabetic capital of the world. It is hereditary acquired disease or it may be due to urbanisation and altered life styles who are more suceptible to it than others. Even at young age people develop complications which leads to Diabetes. There is no cure but only control. If it is not diagnosed and treated in the earlier stages, it leads to serious complications. Onset of diabetes is noticed and most frequently between the age group of 15 to 40 years.
There are 2 different kinds of Diabetes.
1. Diabetes insipidus
2. Diabetes Mellitus
What is diabetes insipidus? Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a rare disease that causes frequent urination. The large volume of urine is diluted, mostly water. To make up for lost water, a person with DI may feel the need to drink large amounts and is likely to urinate frequently, even at night, which can disrupt sleep and, on occasion, cause bedwetting. Because of the excretion of abnormally large volumes of dilute urine, people with DI may quickly become dehydrated if they do not drink enough water. Children with DI may be irritable or listless and may have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. Milder forms of DI can be managed by drinking enough water, usually between 2 and 2.5 liters a day. DI severe enough to endanger a person's health is rare.
What is the difference between diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus? DI should not be confused with diabetes mellitus (DM), which results from insulin deficiency or resistance leading to high blood glucose, also called blood sugar. DI and DM are unrelated, although they can have similar signs and symptoms, like excessive thirst and excessive urination.
DM is far more common than DI and receives more news coverage. DM has two main forms, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. DI is a different form of illness altogether.
Causes of Diabetes Mellitus:
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar. Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both.
To understand diabetes, it is important to first understand the normal process by which food is broken down and used by the body for energy. Several things happen when food is digested:
· A sugar called glucose enters the bloodstream. Glucose is a source of fuel for the body.
· An organ called the pancreas makes insulin. The role of insulin is to move glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, fat, and liver cells, where it can be used as fuel.
People with diabetes have high blood sugar because their body cannot move sugar into fat, liver, and muscle cells to be stored for energy. This is because either:
· Their pancreas does not make enough insulin
· Their cells do not respond to insulin normally
· Both of the above
Some of the other causes include:
· Hereditary
· Obesity
· Mental Tension
· Excess of Consumption of Sweets
· Viral Infections
· Indiscriminate Use of Antibiotics, Harmones and Cortisans
There are two major types of diabetes. The causes and risk factors are different for each type:
Type 1 Diabetes: can occur at any age, but it is most often diagnosed in children, teens, or young adults. In this disease, the body makes little or no insulin. Daily injections of insulin are needed. The exact cause is unknown.
Type 2 Diabetes: makes up most diabetes cases. It most often occurs in adulthood. But because of high obesity rates, teens and young adults are now being diagnosed with it. Many people with type 2 diabetes do not know they have it.
· There are other causes of diabetes, and some patients cannot be classified as type 1 or type 2. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that develops at any time during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes.
Diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans. Over 40 million Americans have pre-diabetes (which often develops before type 2 diabetes). If your parent, brother or sister has diabetes, you may be more likely to develop diabetes.
Symptoms of Diabetes
High blood sugar level can cause several symptoms, including:
· Blurry / Impaired vision
· Excess thirst
· Fatigue
· Hunger
· Urinating often
· Weight loss
· Delay in healing Injuries
· Head ache, dizziness
· Weakness, Itching, Constipation, Skin Diseases
· Infection Rate is high in diabetic and susceptible to infection of renal, blood vessels, nerves, chest, skin, nail, bones, gall blade, genitals, foot, eye, urinary tract, pulmanary TB, hypertension.
· In Chronic diseases Sexual Power is reduced. frequent infection in genitals.
Because type 2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar have no symptoms. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes develop over a short period. People may be very sick by the time they are diagnosed. After many years, diabetes can lead to other serious problems. These problems are known as diabetes complications and include:
· Eye problems including trouble seeing (especially at night), light sensitivity, blindness in the future
· Painful sores and infections of the leg or foot, which if left untreated, leads to removal of the foot or leg
· Nerves in the body can be damaged, causing pain, tingling, and a loss of feeling, problems digesting food, erectile dysfunction
· Kidney problems, which can lead to Kidney failure
· Weakened immune system, which can lead to more frequent infections
· Increased chance of having a heart attack or stroke
Exams and Tests for Diabetes
A Urine analysis may show high blood sugar. But a urine test alone does not diagnose diabetes. Your health care provider may suspect that you have diabetes if your blood sugar level is higher than 200 mg/dL. To confirm the diagnosis, one or more of the following tests must be done.
Blood tests:
· Fasting blood glucose level -- diabetes is diagnosed if it is higher than 126 mg/dL twice. Levels between 100 and 126 mg/dL are called impaired fasting glucose or pre-diabetes. These levels are risk factors for type 2 diabetes.
· Hemoglobin A1C test --
o Normal: Less than 5.7%
o Pre-diabetes: 5.7% - 6.4%
o Diabetes: 6.5% or higher
· Oral glucose tolerance test -- diabetes is diagnosed if glucose level is higher than 200 mg/dL 2 hours after drinking a glucose drink. (This test is used more often for type 2 diabetes.)
Screening for type 2 diabetes in people who have no symptoms is recommended for:
· Overweight children who have other risk factors for diabetes, starting at age 10 and repeated every 2 years
· Overweight adults (BMI greater than 25) who have other risk factors
· Adults over age 45, repeated every 3 years
treatment With type 2 diabetes, the disease may be reversed with lifestyle changes, especially losing weight through exercising and eating healthier foods. Also, some cases of type 2 diabetes can be improved with weight-loss surgery.
There is no cure for type 1 diabetes.
Treatment for Diabetes:
Treating both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes involves medicines, diet, and exercise to control blood sugar level. Check the Madhu rakshak page to know about the medicine
Getting better control over your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels helps reduce the risk of kidney disease, eye disease, nervous system disease, heart attack, and stroke. To prevent diabetes complications, visit your health care provider at least two to four times a year. Talk about any problems you are having. Follow your health care provider's instructions on managing your diabetes.
Know your Normal Sugar Levels:
Fasting Sugar 70- 120 mg%
Post Lunch (After Meals) 100-170 mg%
Diabetes known as MADHUMEHA since ancient days, is a chronic non communicable disease of concern in developing countries, especially in India. India is called as the diabetic capital of the world. It is hereditary acquired disease or it may be due to urbanisation and altered life styles who are more suceptible to it than others. Even at young age people develop complications which leads to Diabetes. There is no cure but only control. If it is not diagnosed and treated in the earlier stages, it leads to serious complications. Onset of diabetes is noticed and most frequently between the age group of 15 to 40 years.
There are 2 different kinds of Diabetes.
1. Diabetes insipidus
2. Diabetes Mellitus
What is diabetes insipidus? Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a rare disease that causes frequent urination. The large volume of urine is diluted, mostly water. To make up for lost water, a person with DI may feel the need to drink large amounts and is likely to urinate frequently, even at night, which can disrupt sleep and, on occasion, cause bedwetting. Because of the excretion of abnormally large volumes of dilute urine, people with DI may quickly become dehydrated if they do not drink enough water. Children with DI may be irritable or listless and may have fever, vomiting, or diarrhea. Milder forms of DI can be managed by drinking enough water, usually between 2 and 2.5 liters a day. DI severe enough to endanger a person's health is rare.
What is the difference between diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus? DI should not be confused with diabetes mellitus (DM), which results from insulin deficiency or resistance leading to high blood glucose, also called blood sugar. DI and DM are unrelated, although they can have similar signs and symptoms, like excessive thirst and excessive urination.
DM is far more common than DI and receives more news coverage. DM has two main forms, type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. DI is a different form of illness altogether.
Causes of Diabetes Mellitus:
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar. Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both.
To understand diabetes, it is important to first understand the normal process by which food is broken down and used by the body for energy. Several things happen when food is digested:
· A sugar called glucose enters the bloodstream. Glucose is a source of fuel for the body.
· An organ called the pancreas makes insulin. The role of insulin is to move glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, fat, and liver cells, where it can be used as fuel.
People with diabetes have high blood sugar because their body cannot move sugar into fat, liver, and muscle cells to be stored for energy. This is because either:
· Their pancreas does not make enough insulin
· Their cells do not respond to insulin normally
· Both of the above
Some of the other causes include:
· Hereditary
· Obesity
· Mental Tension
· Excess of Consumption of Sweets
· Viral Infections
· Indiscriminate Use of Antibiotics, Harmones and Cortisans
There are two major types of diabetes. The causes and risk factors are different for each type:
Type 1 Diabetes: can occur at any age, but it is most often diagnosed in children, teens, or young adults. In this disease, the body makes little or no insulin. Daily injections of insulin are needed. The exact cause is unknown.
Type 2 Diabetes: makes up most diabetes cases. It most often occurs in adulthood. But because of high obesity rates, teens and young adults are now being diagnosed with it. Many people with type 2 diabetes do not know they have it.
· There are other causes of diabetes, and some patients cannot be classified as type 1 or type 2. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that develops at any time during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes.
Diabetes affects more than 20 million Americans. Over 40 million Americans have pre-diabetes (which often develops before type 2 diabetes). If your parent, brother or sister has diabetes, you may be more likely to develop diabetes.
Symptoms of Diabetes
High blood sugar level can cause several symptoms, including:
· Blurry / Impaired vision
· Excess thirst
· Fatigue
· Hunger
· Urinating often
· Weight loss
· Delay in healing Injuries
· Head ache, dizziness
· Weakness, Itching, Constipation, Skin Diseases
· Infection Rate is high in diabetic and susceptible to infection of renal, blood vessels, nerves, chest, skin, nail, bones, gall blade, genitals, foot, eye, urinary tract, pulmanary TB, hypertension.
· In Chronic diseases Sexual Power is reduced. frequent infection in genitals.
Because type 2 diabetes develops slowly, some people with high blood sugar have no symptoms. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes develop over a short period. People may be very sick by the time they are diagnosed. After many years, diabetes can lead to other serious problems. These problems are known as diabetes complications and include:
· Eye problems including trouble seeing (especially at night), light sensitivity, blindness in the future
· Painful sores and infections of the leg or foot, which if left untreated, leads to removal of the foot or leg
· Nerves in the body can be damaged, causing pain, tingling, and a loss of feeling, problems digesting food, erectile dysfunction
· Kidney problems, which can lead to Kidney failure
· Weakened immune system, which can lead to more frequent infections
· Increased chance of having a heart attack or stroke
Exams and Tests for Diabetes
A Urine analysis may show high blood sugar. But a urine test alone does not diagnose diabetes. Your health care provider may suspect that you have diabetes if your blood sugar level is higher than 200 mg/dL. To confirm the diagnosis, one or more of the following tests must be done.
Blood tests:
· Fasting blood glucose level -- diabetes is diagnosed if it is higher than 126 mg/dL twice. Levels between 100 and 126 mg/dL are called impaired fasting glucose or pre-diabetes. These levels are risk factors for type 2 diabetes.
· Hemoglobin A1C test --
o Normal: Less than 5.7%
o Pre-diabetes: 5.7% - 6.4%
o Diabetes: 6.5% or higher
· Oral glucose tolerance test -- diabetes is diagnosed if glucose level is higher than 200 mg/dL 2 hours after drinking a glucose drink. (This test is used more often for type 2 diabetes.)
Screening for type 2 diabetes in people who have no symptoms is recommended for:
· Overweight children who have other risk factors for diabetes, starting at age 10 and repeated every 2 years
· Overweight adults (BMI greater than 25) who have other risk factors
· Adults over age 45, repeated every 3 years
treatment With type 2 diabetes, the disease may be reversed with lifestyle changes, especially losing weight through exercising and eating healthier foods. Also, some cases of type 2 diabetes can be improved with weight-loss surgery.
There is no cure for type 1 diabetes.
Treatment for Diabetes:
Treating both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes involves medicines, diet, and exercise to control blood sugar level. Check the Madhu rakshak page to know about the medicine
Getting better control over your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels helps reduce the risk of kidney disease, eye disease, nervous system disease, heart attack, and stroke. To prevent diabetes complications, visit your health care provider at least two to four times a year. Talk about any problems you are having. Follow your health care provider's instructions on managing your diabetes.
Know your Normal Sugar Levels:
Fasting Sugar 70- 120 mg%
Post Lunch (After Meals) 100-170 mg%
