Diabetes

Question 1

What is Diabetes?

Answer 1

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose.

Question 2

What is Hyperglycemia?

Answer 2

Hyperglycemia, also called raised blood glucose or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body’s systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.

Question 3

Signs and symptoms of diabetes?

Answer 3

Being very thirsty
Needing to urinate more often than usual
Blurry vision
Tiredness
Unintentionally losing weight
Over time diabetes can damage blood vessels in the heart, eyes, kidneys and nerves.
Higher risk of health problems including heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.
Diabetes can cause permanent vision loss by damaging blood vessels in the eyes.
Many people with diabetes develop problems with their feet from nerve damage and poor blood flow. This can cause foot ulcers and may lead to amputation.

Question 4

What is type 1 diabetes?

Answer 4

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by deficient insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin.

Question 5

What is type 2 diabetes?

Answer 5

Type 2 diabetes was formerly called non-insulin dependent, or adult onset. It is often preventable. Until recently, this type of diabetes was seen only in adults but it is now also occurring increasingly frequently in children. Type 2 diabetes affects how your body uses sugar (glucose) for energy. It stops the body from using insulin properly, which can lead to high levels of blood sugar if not treated.

Question 6

Is type 1 or type 2 more common?

Answer 6

More than 95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.

Question 7

Effects of type 2 diabetes.

Answer 7

Damage to the body, especially nerves and blood vessels.
Early diagnosis is important to prevent the worst effects of type 2 diabetes. The best way to detect diabetes early is to get regular check-ups and blood tests with a healthcare provider.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be mild. They may take several years to be noticed. Symptoms may be similar to those of type 1 diabetes but are often less marked. As a result, the disease may be diagnosed several years after onset, after complications have already arisen.

Question 8

Factors that contribute to developing type 2 diabetes:

Answer 8

Being overweight
Lack of exercise
Genetics

Question 9

What is gestational diabetes?

Answer 9

Gestational diabetes is hyperglycemia with blood glucose values above normal but below those diagnostic of diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy.

Question 10

How is gestational diabetes diagnosed?

Answer 10

Gestational diabetes is diagnosed through prenatal screening, rather than through reported symptoms.

Question 11

What complications arise with gestational diabetes?

Answer 11

Women with gestational diabetes are at an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and at delivery. These women and possibly their children are also at increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the future.

Question 12

What are Impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glycaemia?

Answer 12

Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glycaemia (IFG) are intermediate conditions in the transition between normality and diabetes. People with IGT or IFG are at high risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes, although this is not inevitable.

Question 13

Prevention of type 2 diabetes

Answer 13

Lifestyle changes are the best way to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes
Reach and keep a health body weight
Stay physically active with at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week
Eat a healthy diet and avoid sugar and saturated fat
Not smoke tobacco

Question 14

How is diabetes managed?

Answer 14

People with type 1 diabetes need insulin injections for survival. One of the most important ways to treat diabetes is to keep a healthy lifestyle. Some people with type 2 diabetes will need to take medicines to help manage their blood sugar levels. These can include insulin injections or other medicines.
Some examples include:
metformin
sulfonylureas
sodium-glucose co-transporters type 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors.
Along with medicines to lower blood sugar, people with diabetes often need medications to lower their blood pressure and statins to reduce the risk of complications.
Additional medical care may be needed to treat the effects of diabetes:
foot care to treat ulcers
screening and treatment for kidney disease
eye exams to screen for retinopathy (which causes blindness).