Diabetes is a long-term condition that affects the body’s ability to process sugar, or glucose. It can have serious health consequences. But with careful management, people with diabetes can lead full, healthy and active lives.
In people with diabetes, the level of glucose in the blood is too high. This is because a hormone called insulin is either absent from the body, or not working properly.
Glucose is contained in starchy foods such as pasta, rice, bread and potatoes, and in fruit and sweet foods. When we eat food containing glucose, the hormone insulin helps to move it from our blood to the cells where it is needed. But when the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or insulin doesn’t work properly, that process is interrupted and glucose builds up in the blood: this is diabetes.
This means that people with diabetes need to understand how food and physical activity affects their blood glucose level, which might include regulating their own blood glucose. Often, they need to take medication to make sure their blood glucose doesn’t get too high.
Types of diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes.
- Type 1: in this type, the body can’t produce any insulin. This type of diabetes usually occurs before age 40, and accounts for only around 10% of all cases. But it is the most common form of childhood diabetes.
- Type 2: this is where the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or where the body builds up a resistance to insulin so that it doesn’t work effectively. It’s the most common form of diabetes (90% of all cases), and is frequently linked with being overweight. One in 10 people in the UK will eventually develop type 2 diabetes.
Both forms of diabetes are life-long conditions that carry serious potential consequences. Left untreated, diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, nerve damage and blindness.
But if treated effectively, people with diabetes can reduce the risk of those complications, and reduce day-to-day symptoms. Indeed, many people with diabetes lead lives as healthy and active as those without the condition. There are world-class athletes who have diabetes, such as Sir Steve Redgrave.
Around 2.3 million people in the UK have diabetes. It’s also estimated that up to 750,000 people may have the condition without knowing it. These people may be experiencing symptoms that they can’t explain, or may attribute to other causes such as getting older or having a busy lifestyle.
Symptoms of diabetes
The symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes include:
- Increased thirst, and drinking a lot of fluids.
- Passing a lot of urine.
- Being tired for no reason.
- Weight loss.
- Genital itching or repeated bouts of thrush.
- Slow healing of wounds.
- Blurred vision.
In type 1 diabetes, symptoms will typically develop over a few weeks and quickly become very obvious.
In type 2, symptoms can develop more slowly, over a period of months. Some people with type 2 diabetes have only very mild symptoms, which they believe have other causes. A few people may have no symptoms at all.
Treatment for diabetes
The aim of any diabetes treatment is to keep blood sugar levels as normal as possible.
Because people with type 1 diabetes cannot produce any insulin, they must put insulin into their bodies regularly for the rest of their lives. The most common way to do this is with daily insulin injections. People diagnosed with diabetes are taught how to inject themselves. An alternative to daily injections is an insulin pump, which is used by some people. This is a device about the size of a pack of cards, which sends insulin into the body through a thin tube.
In type 2 diabetes, changing to a healthier diet and lifestyle often help to control the condition a great deal. But most people with type 2 diabetes eventually need to take some oral medication (tablets), and some need insulin injections.
People with diabetes may also take medication to reduce the risk of health complications. For example, many take pills to reduce blood pressure, some take statins to reduce their cholesterol, or low doses of aspirin to help prevent stroke
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