Prevention is Better than Cure

Diabetes is a cost intensive disease because of its chronic condition, severe complications and the means of control.

In many families, financial constraints force people to choose between health care, food or clothing. Therefore prevention seems to be a very important factor, especially in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) as the increase is mainly due to lifestyle changes that have resulted in overweight, obese and physically inactive people.

Environmental changes and genetic predisposition increase insulin resistance, which, along with β- cell failure results in rising blood glucose levels.

Prevention can be carried out through health promotions, early detection of high risk individuals and timely intervention to prevent these high risk individuals from progressing to diabetes. Prevention programs are important at various stages in the natural history of the disease.

1. Primordial prevention focuses on health promotion activities such as – preventing smoking, fighting obesity, promoting physical activity and improving dietary habits.

2. Primary prevention focuses on effective screening to detect people at risk of diabetes, pre-diabetes and also their treatment.

3. Secondary prevention focuses on preventing complications of diabetes with appropriate and comprehensive treatment of diabetes and screening for complications.

4. Tertiary prevention focuses on rehabilitation of people with diabetes.

Diabetes Care

Diabetes Care :

Diabetes can be a tough disease to handle. There are many reasons for it, firstly, causes of the disease are not clearly known, it is difficult to prevent. Secondly, once you get the disease, it is not possible to cure the same and you need to take care of your health for entire life. This task can be quite daunting; here are a few tips to help you. 

                                                             

DiabeticCare Tips :

If you have diabetes, you need to take some precautions, in your day to day life as well and not only at those times, when you feel sick. Here are some precautions that you can take in your everyday life:

• You should monitor your blood glucose level regularly. Depending on the severity of your condition, your doctor would tell you about the intervals, in which you should take the test.

• You should take regular doses of medicine or insulin, as have been prescribed.

• Regular exercise proves to be useful in controlling glucose levels. However, you should avoid few exercises, that are known to cause further complications like cardiovascular diseases, hypoglycemia etc.

• In case your glucose level drops suddenly during or after exercise, you should consume a fruit juice or some similar drink that provides you with sugar.

• Weight reduction is a key of success in managing diabetes; hence take all the measures of carb control, what you can.

                                                                   

In case you are suffering from any ailment like flu, cold or any other disease or infection, some extra precautions need to be taken, to avoid further complications by diabetes:

• Check your blood sugar level more frequently, to ensure that no harm is being caused by diabetes.

• The illness may force some changes in your diet; consult your doctor/endocrinologist about the changes you need to make in your diabetes medicine accordingly.

• You should drink lots of water and other clear liquids.

• Remember not to cut yourself completely from food even if you are not experiencing hunger.

• Consult the doctor, if you feel abnormal in any manner. For example you may be feeling excessively sleepy, giddy, may have trouble with urination etc.

                                                             

Diabetes Treatment

Diabetes  Mellitus is a condition wherein a person’s body is unable to regulate the glucose level in blood. These glucose levels are controlled by a hormone called insulin. The disturbances in the level of insulin lead to increase in glucose levels in blood, resulting in Diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes is a hereditary metabolic disorder characterized by an inadequate supply of insulin due to which the body is unable to regulate blood glucose levels. Diabetic renal disease is a major complication that affects 30=50% of Type I and over 20% of Type II diabetic individuals who have had uncontrolled diabetes for more than 3 years.

Diabetic Nephropathy is also called diabetic kidney disease.  It is a chronic, progressive kidney disease that develops in about one-third of all peoplke with diabetes.  It is a complication of diabetes that results in progressive loss of ability of the kidneys to function normally. The kidney is like a leaky sieve, the kidney initially becomes leaky to proteins such as albumin  which are lost in the urine.  As the kidney progressively declines, it leads to accumlation of wastes like, urea, creatinine etc.

Diabetic nephropathy can be treated with insulin therapy and dietary treatment. Diet and exercise have major effect on insulin sensitivity in Type I and Type II diabetic individuals.

Goals in Diabetic Nephropathy
To maintain near-normal blood glucose levels.
To achieve optimal lipid levels.
To provide adequate calories to maintain or attain reasonable weight for adults.
To correct electrolyte depletion.
To avoid dehydration or over hydration.
To reduce and minimize protein breakdown.
To prevent deley or treat nutrition related risk factors and complications.
To slow the progression of renal failure.

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