Let´s learn about
Diabetes an fast increasing incurable disease that affects 60 million people in Europe!
called
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic (long lasting) disease in which your body cells are not able to take up sugar from the blood.
This is because the molecule that allows sugar to enter into the cell, called insulin. Insulin is made in the pancreas. If you have diabetes, your body can not make enough insulin or can not use it properly.
There are 3 main types of diabetes:
type 2 & pregnancy diabetes.
type 1
In type 1 diabetes, the body attacks itself in the pancreas by mistake, this is called an autoimmune reaction. This attack stops your body from making insulin. 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. It is mostly diagnosed in children and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, you will need to take insulin every day to survive. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
In type 2 diabetes, the body makes insulin but can not use it well. It can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 9095% of people with diabetes have type 2. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults. You are at risk of this disease if you do not have a healthy lifestyle. This can lead to Prediabetes and eventually to diabetes type 2.
Losing weight. Eating healthy food. Being active. In prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes, such as:
You
can also develop diabetes during
pregnancy. This
type of diabetes usually goes away after you give birth, but increases your risk for type 2 diabetes. Your baby is also more likely to have obesity as a child or teen, and to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
But why is it important to regulate your blood sugar?
Over
time a high blood sugar concentration can damage your blood vessels, your nerves, immune system and mental health!
Let’s take a look at to what Health Problems that can lead
Heart disease
High blood sugar can damage the blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart. This leads to heart disease. Heart disease means that the body has blood circulation problems that affect the heart.
High bl a higher the arte High ch choleste damage hardeni called a Also, people with diabetes have a higher chance of having: This can cau brain stroke
Finally, people with diabetes are more likely to have heart failure. This means your heart can not pump well. It will make your legs swell and it will make breathing difficult. Early diagnosis and treatment can help with the symptoms and stop or delay the worsening of heart failure.
Chronic Kidney disease
High
blood sugar can damage blood vessels in the kidneys as well
as
nephrons,
the
blood filtering
units of the
kidney. Chronic Kidney disease means that your kidneys function less and less over time. If not recognised early, patients will need dialysis (filtering the blood by an artificial kidney device) or a kidney transplant to survive.
Nerve damage
High blood sugar can damage your nerves. These nerves
may
stop sending messages
to different parts of your body leading to numbness or nerve
pain. In diabetes patients nerve damage
often occurs in the
feet and the legs.
If the blood
sugar
is not
regulated
in the long term, diabetes patients will get painful wounds on their feet.
Also the nerves in the ears can get damaged by high blood sugar.
Hearing
loss is 2x as common in people who have diabetes.
Eyes
High blood sugar can damage your eyes over time. Your eyes contain blood vessels and nerves that can be damaged by the blood sugar. This makes it harder to see and can even lead to blindness.
Mouth Health
A high blood sugar concentration means that you will have also a high sugar concentration in the saliva. Bacteria that cause tooth decay, cavities, and gum disease, feed on sugar. Also, a High blood sugar can weaken white blood cells. These are your body’s main ways to fight infections that can occur in the mouth. Therefore, gum disease and mouth infections can be more severe and take longer to heal, if you have diabetes.
Mental Health
People with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes. They might feel discouraged dealing with daily diabetes care.
People can develop health problems related to diabetes in spite of their best efforts to prevent them.
Those
overwhelming feelings, known as diabetes distress, may lead to unhealthy habits, stopping blood sugar checking and even to skipping doctor’s appointments. It happens to many—if not most— people with diabetes. In any 18month period, up to 50% of diabetes patients have diabetes distress.
How can you know if you have diabetes?
You
will need to get your blood sugar tested by your doctor to find out if you have diabetes. Testing is simple, and results are usually available quickly.
& how can you treat it best? To prevent type 2 diabetes it is important to aim for a healthy weight and eat a healthy diet. If you struggle with your diet, seek help from your doctor or dietician. Also, try to get active at least 3 times a week. To prevent complications keep your blood sugar as close to your target levels as possible. Next to that, you should follow a healthy diet and aim for a healthy weight.
getting active stopping smoking managing your blood pressure and managing your levels of cholesterol Furthermore, helps to prevent complications. If you suspect complications, the best thing you can do is to tell your doctor about it, so you can get the appropriate treatment.
This booklet about Diabetes was made by
As part of the diabetes awareness campaign 2022