What you should know in managing diabetes?

According to International Diabetes Federation, every 10 seconds a person dies of Diabetes related complications. It further adds that every 10 seconds, 2 persons are detected of having Diabetes worldwide and it had become the 4th leading cause of death in the world by a disease.

If you ever thought of neglecting your Diabetes and to live happily ever after, then think again!

But, is there any good news related to Diabetes for its victims? Yes. If you adopt a healthy diet and increase physical activity, 80% of Type II Diabetes can be prevented!

Therefore the important question would be, How to manage Diabetes? This article will give you few hints on exactly what you should and should not do in managing Diabetes. Some of the factors which determines how your diabetic control would be,

Taking responsibility:

The most important advice that can be given to a Diabetic patient is "to take care of yourself and take responsibility for yourself". The medicines, therapy, psycho treatment and whatever means would have little effect if the patient is not motivated in controlling his Diabetes. So, if you are a Diabetic, be good to yourself!

Healthy Diet:

The basic problem in diabetes is the Insulin being totally absent, partially absent or ineffective. This means that the body does not possess the capacity to control the sugar levels in the blood after taking a meal. High sugar levels continuously being present in the circulation will disrupt the bodily functions and will harm the tissues and hormonal function along with the metabolism. Of course, a Diabetic patient will not loose his appetite nor he will feel that any harm is being done. All these are long term complications unless you shift to a state of 'Diabetic Ketoacidosis' which can knock you down for good in quick time.

Therefore diabetic patients need to eat healthy food. Thus, they should,

1. Avoid predominantly Carbohydrate foods

2. Avoid High sugar containing diets like Cakes, ice cream and sweets

3. Consume more vegetables, green leaves and red rice

4. Take fruits in moderate amounts

5. Consume adequate milk

6. use diabetic food

would help them in managing their sugar levels to a minimum and maintain the right balance.

Exercises:

Exercise is a good way to control the sugar levels in the circulation and reduce bodily fat by burning it out as it would be a co-morbid factor in Diabetes.

Keeping the body lighter in weight and strong would make their chances of being healthy, very high. The

exercises would have to be workouts which make them sweat for at least 30 minutes for at least 3 days a week. Now that's not so bad after all, isn't it?

Medicine:

Yes, this plays a pivotal role in patients with diabetes with diet and exercise having minimal effects on blood sugar levels. Oral medications would be adequate for most type II Diabetic patients, if the medications are supplemented by the diet and adequate exercise.

But, for type I patients, insulin therapy would be the mainstay of treatment.

The patients need to stick to the dosage given by the physician, have a healthy diabetic meal after taking the drugs, oral or insulin and should not abruptly increase or decrease the dosages as they wish!

Another important factor to stress in diabetes management is that, similar to preventing the blood sugars to rise, it's also important not to let it fall dangerously low. If this happens the patients can go into a comma and mind you the rest!

Prevention of complications:

The complications of Diabetes are the worst part of the disease. It affects the patients as follows,

1. Diabetic Retinopathy, causing blindness,

2. Diabetic Nephropathy, causing kidney failure,

3. Angina and other ischaemic events related to heart

4. Diabetic Nuropathy, causing them not to feel even an ant bite.

What can the patients do to prevent these complications apart from what was mentioned before?

Blindness:

Routine checkups at the eye surgeon at least yearly would help in detecting these complications and avoid total blindness with treatment.

Kidney failure:

Follow the doctor's advice and do kidney function tests at intervals to detect if any deterioration is occurring. If the diabetic patients having good kidney functions they should drink plenty of fluids except alcohol!

Nerve problems and related complications:

Problem with not feeling even a scratch is it tends to neglect the wound and severe infections can set in. These need to be prevented, as in Diabetes the healing process of the wounds is not up to the mark. Therefore a patient with impaired sensation should daily check their feet for wounds, scratches and ulcers and treat them before getting infected. Always, always wear slippers which are comfortable to your feet. Healthy feet are a must for complicated Diabetes patients, unless they don't care about the presence of their feet!

Well, with all these management tips, one final note has to be made. The Diabetic patients need good family support to avoid and overcome these complications. So be supportive and wise in taking care of Diabetic patients