Diabetes is the disease of having elevated levels of glucose in the blood. If taken lightly, this disease can severely damage your lungs, kidneys, heart, and eyes. It is so common that any of your relatives, family members, or friends would definitely be suffering from diabetes. Therefore, everyone must have the basic knowledge of diabetes, to keep themselves and their loved ones safe from it.
Depending on its causes, diabetes is of several types but the rise in the level of blood glucose remains common in all. Usually, there are three main types of diabetes considered- Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own body and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. It usually happens in children or young adults. In Type 2 diabetes, either the body is resistant to insulin or not enough insulin is being produced by the pancreas, due to which glucose levels in the blood get high. Prediabetes is a type of diabetes that can turn into type 2 diabetes later. In this, the glucose level is high but not that high to be counted as Type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes happens in women during pregnancy. Certain hormones that are released by the placenta make the body resistant to insulin. It usually goes away after pregnancy; however, these women have the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in their lives. Out of all these types, type 2 diabetes is the most common. Type 1 diabetes is also seen often.
There is no permanent solution to cure diabetes but it is very important to manage its system and take care of your health. However, one can always prevent catching or worsening diabetes by taking care of the risk factors. If you have a risk of catching diabetes due to whatsoever reason, avoid to do these risk factors, this will definitely help you in being safe.
Risk factors of Diabetes
- Risk Factors for Type 1 Diabetes include-
- Hereditary
- In case you have an injury in the pancreas (due to infection or surgery)
- Presence of autoantibodies, can attack your own body.
- Illness due to virus
- Physical stress due to any surgery, injury, or illness
- Risk Factors of Type 2 Diabetes include
- Hereditary
- Being obese
- High blood pressure
- Having low good cholesterol and high triglyceride level
- Being physically inactive
- Old age
- Smoking
- Having a history of gestational diabetes or prediabetes.
- Heart Diseases or Stroke
- Risk factors of Gestational Diabetes-
- Hereditary
- If you are 26 or more
- Being overweight before pregnancy
Complications of Diabetes
Long-term complications may develop over time. If you have diabetes for a long period, or you don’t keep regular control of your diabetes, the following are the complications you may face-
- Cardiovascular diseases- Diabetes can dramatically affect your cardiovascular systems and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease with chest pain, etc.
- Nerve Damage (Neuropathy)- Diabetes can damage the capillaries that nourish your nerves, especially in your legs. You may suffer numbness, tingling, or pain in your feet and fingers. If left untreated it can later lead to nausea, vomiting, or constipation. In men, erectile dysfunction may occur too.
- Kidney Damage (Nephropathy)- Kidneys have millions of tiny vessels that filter the blood and diabetes can hurt this filtration system. This may lead to kidney failure or some chronic irreversible effect on your kidneys.
- Eye Damage (Retinopathy)- This disease can also affect the blood vessels of the retina which can potentially lead to blindness. It can also cause other types of problems like cataracts, glaucoma, etc.
- Foot damage- As mentioned above, lower blood flow in the foot or nerve damage in the leg region increases the risk of developing foot complications.
- Skin Problems- Diabetes also increases the risk of skin infections including bacterial and fungal infections.
- Hearing Impairment- Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.
- Alzheimer’s Disease- Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease too. The poorer the control of blood sugar level, the more is the risk.
- Depression- People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes may suffer from depression which in turn can affect diabetic management.
Now that you know about the risk factors and complications, you should definitely work on avoiding diabetes and adapting to a healthy lifestyle. Small lifestyle changes can make a big difference. Start eating healthy, have balanced meals, avoid sugar, fats, and excess salts, exercise for an hour daily, or at least go for a walk. Don’t miss your medications if you are already suffering from diabetes. all this will help you in managing your diabetes or avoiding it.
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