How Diabetes Can Ruin Health

Each year on November 14, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), seeks to promote the theme of ‘education and prevention’ on World Diabetes Day.? The campaign slogan for 2012 is, ‘Diabetes: protect our future’ and focuses on supporting those with type 1 diabetes and preventing the current generation of children from developing type 2 diabetes. Our correspondent from Lagos, Florence? UDOH, reports.

A woman who is very overweight for her height and frame, began to have the symptoms of frequent urination, insatiable thirst, dizziness and headaches.

When she went to her physician for? an examination, he diagnosed her condition? as diabetes? (too much sugar in the blood) . She was put on a strict diet, with injections of insulin every morning. All sweets and sugar were strictly forbidden. The doctor made this very plain.

As a lover of sweet foods all her life, she takes about six cubes of sugar with her tea. She thought that three cubes of sugar in her tea wouldn’t hurt. She also bought her favourite kind of assorted sweets and an extra packet of sugar and put them in a secret place in her bedroom. No one knew, she thought it was a foolproof scheme.

But after supper one night, she left the family circle in the living room and tiptoed to her room secretly to have a piece of her favourite sweets. One piece didn’t quite do it, so she had one more. Those two didn’t quite satisfy her, either. Unable to stop, she ate herself into a diabetic coma!

The panic and confusion that followed sent shock waves through the household and neighbourhood. It was quite a spectacle when she was rushed to a nearby hospital. About? a day later, after so much money had been spent, she was back home feeling guilty and embarrassed for having been so foolish. (Today’s cost may be higher than yesterday’s)

According? to?? a? medical?? doctor?? with?? May? Hospital,? ILasamaja,? Lagos, Dr? Emmanauel?? Kayode,? “there are two types of diabetes mellitus: Type 1, or juvenile? diabetes, occurring mostly in children and young adults and Type 2, adult onset diabetes. The disease is caused from a defect in insulin production by the pancreas”

Insulin is needed by the body to utilise glucose for energy. In addition, juvenile-onset diabetes is caused by? a failure of the body to produce insulin, which is needed for the metabolism of carbohydrates(starches and sugar).

“In maturity onset? diabetes, the body cells are unable to respond normally to insulin. In both types, blood sugar fails to penetrate body cells, and they become deprived of vital energy. It is like a “water, water everywhere , and not a drop to drink,” situation.

For maturity-onset diabetes lowering one’s body weight to normal and keeping it there? eliminates the condition? in many cases. Juvenile-onset diabetes, on the contrary, is not usually reversible”.?

Diabetes complications are the third leading cause of death in Nigeria. Diet affects this disease as much as it does cancer. Overweight people who eat diets high in refined processed foods and sugary goodies and low in fibre are more likely? to develop diabetes as they grow older.

In? Nigeria,? the number of? persons?? having? diabetes? keeps?? on? increasing? daily, laments? Dr? Kayode, with serious consequences for the health of the populace. The body is unable to cope with the excess blood glucose in diabetes, when left uncontrolled. Sustained excess blood glucose levels (blood glucose beyond the normal range of between 70 to 120 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) will gradually wear out the body system and that’s the key danger. When the blood glucose level is uncontrolled, the risk of major health problems,?? categorised as complications of diabetes, will be high.

It is those long-term complications of diabetes that every sufferer has to work hard to avoid, by taking immediate measures to minimise the risk of their eventual occurrence. What are these complications?

Eye damage: Diabetes is a major cause of various eye problems and can ultimately lead to complete blindness. Cataracts which can blur a person’s vision, are believed to be a strong risk with sustained high blood sugar levels. The eye’s retina can also be damaged, again affecting vision. Called diabetic retinopathy, this retina damage results principally from damage to the tiny blood vessels of the eye as a result of the excessive load of glucose in the blood stream. Glaucoma is also a potential risk, as a result of the pressure that builds up in the eye. Total loss of sight is a possibility when that situation persists.

Kidney Damage: Excess blood glucose will also cause damage to the blood vessels of the kidneys. Diabetic nephropathy is kidney damage resulting from prolonged high level of blood glucose which affects the kidney’s tiny blood vessels. depending on the extent of damage, kidney failure may result. Kidney problems are difficult to manage, expensive to treat (frequent dialysis and kidney transplant are all expensive and cumbersome) and could indeed easily be life-threatening. The wisdom is to take all humanly possible steps to avoid the degeneration of such important organs by controlling the blood sugar level..

Cardiovascular Diseases: Diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels will be a high risk if blood glucose levels remain persistently high. Heart attack will be a risk, just as stroke can also result. With the increased blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels that could result, the risk of blockage of blood vessels is increased, which could be a danger for stroke. More complications will arise if high blood pressure is present. Minimising the risk of cardiovascular diseases will therefore be a major objective of diabetes control.

Damage to the Nerve System: Damage to the nerve system, which could result in pain and numbness in the extremities (usually in the legs and feet), is another complication potential of diabetes. Peripheral neuropathy will affect the sense of sensation and flexibility of motion one had before the illness. This could be a serious problem in many ways, including the diminished ability to feel pain from cuts, which can fester and be more problematic.

Ulcers and amputation of Limbs:? Poor blood flow to the feet and nerve damage can lead to problems with the feet. Ulcers that are difficult to heal are also a risk, in some cases resulting in amputation of lower limbs.

Impotence and loss of libido: That’s another possible long-term complication of diabetes. The damage to nerves can understandably impair the functioning of the organs and weaken the system.

“Simply put, a major danger of diabetes is the complications that can result, over time, when there is diabetes. Most of those complications are difficult health problems that are not only difficult and expensive to manage but could really threaten life. Many of those problems basically arise from the excessive blood glucose level, if that remains uncontrolled for long. That is why controlling the level of blood sugar is a critical part of diabetes management. The goal should be to minimise the risk of these long-term complications by doing everything that can help to keep the blood glucose within an acceptable range. Your doctor will help you establish control guidelines to work with. He will also determine the nature of treatment that is appropriate. It’s important to stress, though, that a lot of lifestyle change response will be critical to your performance in dealing with the blood glucose and other diabetes challenges. Personal blood sugar testing is also likely to become an important part of your routine, as there will be need to keep a tab on your blood sugar level”.

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Guidelines??? to?? Follow??? to?? Reduce? Risk? of? Diabetes

Are you one of those battling with excess weight? If you have decided? that you need to lose those excess pounds, here are a few basic? principles for you to follow:

Decrease your intake of? meat (beef, lamb, pork, and pork products), also?? fat (fatty meats, fried foods, butter, oil, etc)

Decrease??? your? consumption?? of??? sugars (sweets, candy, refined sugars, etc),? also?? white? lour baked goods (bread, cakes, doughnuts, etc).

Rather?? INCREASE? the? Intake?? of? fresh? vegetables,? tomatoes? and? fruits.

Eat? more? of? grilled or boiled fish and chicken, without oil or skin (Remember very little meat is ideal.)

Eat? more? of? whole grain products (bread, cereal, foods.

According?? to? Dr? Kayode,? this simple plan will help you?? healthy and? reduce? your? risk? of? having? Diabetes

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